Obsessions?? Me??

I debated whether or not to even join this linky, I'm pretty sure if you follow along you already know my obsessions!!




Bonnie over at Living a Wonderful Life is having this obsession linky. She has a really sweet blog and came up with this fun party:)  I have really enjoyed reading everyones posts and all of their obsessions.  It makes me feel so happy I'm not the only one who obsesses over things. 

So what could I be obsessed with, along with all of these other lovely ladies?? Well your here reading my latest obsession!  Blogging. I don't even know how it happened... One day I had a Facebook obsession, which led to my Pinterest obession, which has led me here!!  I guess then it would really be a Social Media obsession!!


Okay next biggie...hmm...what could it be....maybe...surfing??? (Could you hear the Church Lady?)

I really only started surfing about 4 or 5 years ago and it has become more of an addiction, but let's call it an obsession.  I grew up in Colorado and dreamed about summer time and going to a far off tropical places.   Then one day I went and saw this movie:



I was in love with it and told myself someday I would attempt it. Well about 6 years later while living in California I met my significant other and guess what? He was a surfer!  We ended up moving here 10 years ago and everyone surfed...but me:(  I love the beach and hot days and water, but ....ssshhh...don't tell.... I was afraid of the ocean!!  I couldn't even snorkel when I got here! I would start to hyper-ventilate when I saw anything move under the water!!

So I had to teach myself to be comfortable in the water.  Once I got that down I went out and bought myself a surfboard





 and have never looked back!! (Well I guess I have now;)



My final obsession is shopping!!  Not just any shopping, I am a bargain hunter!! It started in highschool with my mother!  We used to spend our weekends scouring thrift stores, flea markets, garage sales for little treasures.  I get so excited when I find out about a new thrift shop or if there is a garage sale going on down the street.  I also love Ross for great buys and TJ Maxx just came to the island!! What do I buy?? Everything...but I am an accessory junkie!! Shoes, scarves, belts, jewelry, hats....I have to continually clean my closets to make room for all my new finds.  Now that I have kids I love it even more!!


Okay there you have it my Obsession Confession!! Head on over to Bonnie's and link up!


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Feeling Better and Summer Reading

I just want to thank everyone for all the sweet comments, you're such a great bunch!!  I woke up this morning feeling miserable again, but I just couldn't spend another day in the house! So I got dressed and combed my hair for the first time since Friday, rounded up my girls and headed out to run some errands.

I posted on my FB page that I was looking for a new laminator to get started on some summer projects.  Everyone pointed me toward the Scotch brand and I had every intention on getting it, but...


this little baby was only $20 at Costco and it comes with 100 laminating sheets in different sizes! I hope it works well:)) If not Costco has a great return policy.  After I found this we hit Target and Walmart and I also picked up some cute Duct tape. Don't know what I will use it for yet, but I had to have it:)

The girls and I had some lunch, grabbed a Slurpee...(have you tried the sugar-free Mango?? it's really yummy:)) then stopped by the post office to pick up a package I have been waiting for:)


So my summer reading begins!!  I decided I should link up and share what I will be attempting to get through this summer.  The Clutter-Free Classroom is having this linky and a contest!



So along with these new books I have a pile here at home that I need also get to.


Love these, but need to go through and highlight and add sticky notes


I have Photoshop Elements and there is so much to it, I need to know more!!

And these have been sitting by my bed for months...I think you can see the
mark on the first one that I used as a coaster...




Have you read any of these?  They are a bit old, but I don't really keep up on newer releases.  I love reading all genres, especially historical fiction. I just finished the Hunger Games, and may have to get through the rest of the series as well. We'll see... 

On a final note, I found this cute little card in my mailbox when I got home, along with some yummy smelling handmade soap.  It was from one of my students. I guess he forgot to give it to me on the last day of school:)  I think some teacher's would be a little nervous that students know where they live, lol, but I have known his family for many years:)
So now after this long day of running around I am wiped out!! I always seem to have energy to blog though;)  Maybe it's the coffee...

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A Summer Cold and Freebie

So my summer plans have temporarily been put on hold due to a nasty little cold I woke up with on Friday!!  This seems to always happen to me.  I fight off everything until I have time to rest and then some sneaky little bug gets  me sick:(  So I have been miserable on the couch for the last few days.
Luckily there has been no surf and the weather has not been fantastic.

So what to do while I'm recouping...play on the computer of course.  I have been toying around with a few things that I had put on hold until I had more time. 

I finally got my Teacher's Notebook store opened.  It's a different format than Teacher Pay Teacher's and I have been too busy to really play around with it.  I still have a few  glitches to work out, but at least I have my link in the sidebar:)

I have also been working on creating some nametags and labels for my class next year.  I want to have a nice cohesive look, but I like too many things!!

Anyway I played around with an idea today and thought they came out pretty cute so I thought I would share and get your opinion on them.



I love the bright colors and thought they would be fun to use.   

If you like them please feel free to click on the picture to grab this freebie in my TpT store or here for my Teacher's Notebook store. Let me know what you think, I would love the feedback.

This works out really well with the New Manic Monday Freebie Link Up.   Don't forget to link up your own freebies:)

Classroom Freebies Manic Monday


Okay, I am off to have some hot tea before I snuggle into bed.


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Last Day!!

This has been a crazy week and I am so glad to be sitting down:))  We only had four days, but I have had to clean and pack while still teaching!! My kids were actually really good, and this year our principal set up some activities for the afternoon so we could work in our classrooms!

We had our Ohana luncheon yesterday which was really great.  I invited our parents to come and have lunch with their child in class.  They all provided a little something for our potluck.  It was nice to sit and chat with all of them about summer plans and how much their kids have grown.

This particular year was fun to teach because I have known many of these students since they were babies. Our community is very small and my daughters attend the same school that I work at.  Needless to say I am good friends with many of my student's families.

Today I gave awards that Krista over at Stellar Students had created.  It was so much fun to see the kids receiving their awards for fun titles such as Next American Idol and Most Smiles Daily:))  I also made some cute little Owl Miss You notes for them and gave them a little goodie bag.

Most years I get a few nice gifts like Starbucks gift cards or Amazon cards, but today was like Christmas!!


I love the towel with sunscreen and chocolate covered macadamia nuts!!


And I have never received a bikini before!! Lol, this parent makes swimsuits for a living:)


I also had a parent who is a Graphic Artist.  She did a lesson on the Mona Lisa with my kids and had them create their own version.  She put this together.



I love all the different versions that the kids created!! It's just fantastic.  I can't wait to find a place to hang this at home:))


And my final wonderful gift was just amazing!! This is a print from one of my favorite local artists, Heather Brown.  She does these  paintings and has a unique style that you can spot anywhere.  Does this look familiar?? (Check out my profile pic:))



I feel so fortunate and so blessed  to work with such wonderful children, parents and colleagues in such an amazing community. 

I am looking forward to getting up early tomorrow to go for a jog and then search for waves!!



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Another One Bites The Dust Linky

Only 4 days left...report cards almost done...starting to pack...and thinking about what I will use for next year and what I plan to change.


Amber at Adventures of a Third Grade Teacher is having a linky and I'm a bit late to the party, but it's fun to reflect on the year and what's ahead.

Things that went really well this year:

My guided reading groups!!  I had four different groups this year as my kiddos ranges went from having some students who were reading at a 5th grade level and some who were a low 1st.  I really vamped up my centers and used these resources so much!!

     Literacy Work Stations: Making Centers Work

I also used so many resources from Reading A-Z and fabulous centers from you wonderful ladies out there!!

 My students came so far in reading!! I had 6 ELL students who were below level when they came in and did so fantastic that 5 of the 6 were exited out of ELL!! I also had 3 SPED students who I kept with me all year. I really pushed them and they kept up with their peers and worked so hard for me. They still struggle, but their confidence is way up!!

 I also really pushed my upper kids with challenging, but appropriate reading material and enriching activities.  It was alot of work, but I enjoyed differentiating for this group.

I just purchased these to read over the summer:

The CAFE Book: Engaging All Students in Daily Literary Assessment and InstructionDifferentiated Literacy Centers: 85 + Leveled Activities-With Reproducible Planning Sheets and Student Pages-to Support Centers in Fluency, Reading Comprehension, and Word Study

Another thing that went well this year was our new Math Curriculum.

Our school purchased Go Math and I was sooo happy with it!! It was so much more kid friendly than Everyday Math and every single kid passed every assessment that we had!!! No tears, no "This is too hard!"  This was one of their favorite subjects, maybe because it was one of mine as well.

I had one little boy write in a journal entry:  "Last year I was soo bad at math, but this year I did awesome!!

The other thing that was so fantastic this year was discovering Pinterest and Teaching Blogs!!

I have become so inspired again even after 20 years of teaching!! All these ideas and the community I have become a part of makes me want to be a better teacher:))  Thank you to all your wonderful insights and enthusiasm for a rewarding, but tough profession!

Okay what didn't work out so well:

Our second grade team decided to specialize in a subject and teach the 3 separate classes.  I taught PE and my other colleagues taught Science and Social Studies.  Although all the second graders had a lot more PE lessons this year, and I received funding for new equipment, I really did not love teaching the same class 3 times.  I also felt the time was too rushed and I missed teaching Science and Social Studies:(  If we decide to do this again we need to rework the time and maybe switch out subjects during the year.

My classroom arrangement was also not my favorite.  I want to keep the students in groups and it often feels bunched up.  I also did not like my computer area, it was not as functional as I would have liked it.

The final thing that needs some work for next year is my parent communication/participation.  I kind of held my parents at bay this year because I really don't know what to do with them.  I just want to teach, not teach them how to teach.  I have so many parents who tell me they want to help out in the class, but I don't really know what I want them to do!!  I would LOVE any ideas if you have them!!!

So another year has come and gone and it is great to look forward to relaxing and slowly start thinking on the new year ahead!!

Don't forget to link up with Amber!!



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Fun Friday Freebie

Aloha everyone! I hope the end of the year does not have you in total chaos!! We finally finshed all of our assessments and my kiddos are checking out quick!! I have 5 days left and needed to have some fun activities.  We went out for a class kickball game this week and had a blast!! We have also been watching more videos than usual...Discovery Education has lots to choose from.

Today I decided to do a fun little craft to keep them busy.  These little Surf Buddies were just the thing to keep them busy all morning.



We discussed what everyone had planned for the summer and then I let them loose to create their own Surfer Dude or Dudette!!





How cute are these!!  I plan to use these again at the beginning of the year, but with their names on them.  I think I'm going with a surf theme....original huh!!



These were so fun to make!! If you want the templates just click on the picture above to download from my TpT store.

Have fun!!

37

Happy Mother's Day and My Summer Bucket List

Happy Mother's Day to all of you mom's out there!!  I have been a mother for 10 years now!!  I can't believe it.  In my 20's I never thought I wanted to have kids especially as a teacher.

 I was so fortunate to have two beautiful daughters.
This is one of my favorite pics of my daughters and I.

I also love this pic of my mom and I.  I look so much like her it's amazing!!


Well for my Mother's day we celebrated yesterday in Waikiki. It was beautiful and we enjoyed dinner on the beach and watched the sunset:)

Today my hubby took the girls out for the day and I am enjoying a peaceful day at home cleaning, doing laundry and playing on the computer:))
I NEVER get to be alone these days, so this is a big treat for me!

So I am also putting together my Summer Bucket List.

Summer Bucket List

These lovely ladies are hosting a fun linky to share your summer ideas and projects.

Well the first thing I plan to do is surf as much as possible:))

surf on

Work on my photography

Pinned Image

Catch up on my reading
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Revamp my filing cabinets in my classroom

Pinned Image
Organize my jewelry

 Pinned Image

And finally work on aligning my Reading Series to Common Core!

Pinned Image

What's on your Summer Bucket List??  Link up and share out, I would love to see what everyone else has planned.

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