Five for… Monday!

Happy Monday!  Today was my first day back after spring break.  Whew!  I also totally missed the mark on Five for Friday, so I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching today!

1. Songs in the Key of Life

I started out my spring break by going to the Stevie Wonder concert in Minneapolis.  It was amazing!  He played his album "Songs in the Key of Life", and had probably about 30 people on stage with him- vocalists, orchestra, horns… And he played for just about three hours!  He is such a talented musician!

2.  Art in Bloom

Every year, Macy's downtown store puts on a flower show around a central theme.  This year they recreated famous works of art using flowers.  There were such beautiful blooms, and the whole 8th floor smelled heavenly!

3.  Pocketful of Sunshine

I even picked up my own little plant to take home!  It's called a "calceolaria", or pocketbook plant, and it's brightening up my classroom now.  We'll see how long I can keep it alive.  :)

4.  Buttercream Basics

Recently, I bought a cake decorating kit from Michael's and I finally got around to using it!  I started by practicing my buttercream skills.  It was SO fun!

5.  Huh?  What papers?

So…. I brought home a whole stack of papers to grade over break.  And I really had every intention of grading them…. But I literally forgot I had them until Sunday night.  Whoops!!!  I guess you could say that I had a restful break and really got my mind off of school!  :)

Be sure to link up and share your top five!

April Currently

It may be April Fool's Day, but it's no joke that the last time I posted was for MARCH Currently!  Whoops!  Well, today I'm linking up again with Farley from Oh Boy 4th Grade for April Currently!

Listening:  It's the first thunderstorm this spring and I LOVE listening to thunderstorms!

Loving:  Spring Break!  My week off is about halfway over, but I have enjoyed not being on any schedule.  I've done a lot of relaxing and catching up on Food Network and HGTV shows.

Thinking:  I've got oodles of pictures from school that I just need to turn into some new posts.  I should use this time off to catch up and get some scheduled!

Wanting:  I have been practicing my cake decorating skills using a practice mat.  I just scrape the icing off and re-use it for more practice.  But I'm itching to make a cake or some cupcakes so I can do some REAL practice.  I'll definitely be making some pretty cupcakes for Easter this weekend.  :)

Needing:  Of course I would get a cold during spring break.  What a lovely way to spend a week off… I am needing to get rid of this cold!  Just an excuse to sleep more!

EGGS-plain my name:  My grandma's sister's name was Eleanor.  At family reunions, she was 'big Ellie' and I was 'little Ellie'.  When I was younger, I wasn't a huge fan of my name.  Always having to correct teachers when they call me 'Eleanor' (it's 'Ellie'!) was a pain.  But now I can understand and appreciate the origin of my name.  :)

Be sure to go check out Farley's linky to see what everyone is currently up to in April!

March Currently

It's March already!  Today I'm linking up with Farley from Oh Boy 4th Grade for March Currently.

Listening:  Have you seen Undercover Boss?  Lately it's been on my Netflix cue.  It's the kind of show I can have on in the background while I get some work done.  :) 

Loving: Blogging!  I was M.I.A. for a little while this fall, but I love being back in the blogging world!  I have some fun posts in the works, so stay tuned!

Thinking:  Report card marking day is this Friday, and conferences are coming up in mid-March.  Thinking about all of the things that need to get done before then is overwhelming!

Wanting:  I went to Michael's and bought a beginner's cake decorating kit, and my goal is to perfect my buttercream skills.  I can't wait to make some icing and practice!

Needing:  What better way to relax than to get a mani/pedi?  It sounds so nice right now!

Spring Break Plans:  A family friend asked me to watch their dog while they are on vacation.  I get to stay at their house and hang out, so it should be a nice change of atmosphere!  Hopefully I'll get some TpTing done in that week!

Don't forget to link up with Farley for Currently!

Five for Friday- April 4

It's Friday!  Which means I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday!

Here's what happened in Miss Woodward's Class this week:

1.  TpT Conference

Last night, I told you about some exciting news!  I will be going to Las Vegas this summer to attend the Teachers Pay Teachers Conference!  Read all about it here.  I am SOOOO excited!  Anyone else out there going, too?

Click the image to learn more about the conference.

2.  SNOW.

It's snowing right now.  Last night we got like 6 inches, maybe more.  That's all I'm going to say about that.

3.  Awards Assembly

Does your school do any type of Awards assemblies?  Each quarter we all gather in the gym, and teachers give out awards to students who showed exemplary behavior and hard work that quarter.  The awards we give are Perfect Attendance, Principal's List (all A's), Achievement (all A's and B's), Most Improved, and the RHINO award.  

Our school mascot is the Rhino, so the Rhino Award is for students who show any of our five core behaviors:

R- Respect

I will be kind.

H- Help

I will help.

I- Inspire

I will encourage others.

N- Never give up

I will keep trying.

O- Overcome

I CAN do it!

4.  Fact and Opinion Game

Every day for 30 minutes, 3rd grade does SHINE time.  SHINE time is a time for students to work on reading and math skills.  We have all of the 3rd graders divided into five different groups, based on their needs.

My group has been working on fact and opinion, and thanks to my lack of planning, I was scrambling to find something for yesterday's SHINE time during my prep.  Oops!  I went down to our Title I room and found this game to play.

We divided into teams, and it worked perfectly!  The kids were engaged the whole time, and it really helped them practice their fact and opinion skills!

The game is from Lakeshore Learning.  There are TONS of other games like this to practice other reading skills.  If this seems like something you could use in your classroom, check it out here!

5.  Macy's Flower Show

Last weekend, I went to the Macy's Flower Show at the Macy's Store in downtown Minneapolis.  Every year, Bachman's puts on this lovely show of beautiful flowers.  It always puts me in a spring-y mood.   :)   The theme this year was "The Secret Garden".  Check out some of the photos I snapped.

How was your week?  Link up so we can hear all about it!  :)

Until next time,

- Miss Woodward