This and That.....

Hi Sweet Friends!

I'm so excited to have a 3 day weekend!  How about you?  

It seems like life is so busy right now... home and work.

Here's a little bit of what I've been up too lately.

Valentine's Day Party and Activities

Aren't these just adorable?!  These were just a few of the Valentine boxes created by my students for our Valentine card exchange.

These are just a few of the Valentine guys and gals my students designed.

We've also been working on preparing for the BIG state test in two weeks.  I've been using a lot of my math task cards from my various math units to refresh and review our math concepts.   We are also using several of Rachel Lynette's task cards to review those reading strategies.

I also had the opportunity to sit in on a textbook workshop at a neighboring district.  This district is piloting a new reading series that is aligned to the Common Core.  A couple of teachers from each grade level in my district were invited to attend.   I should begin by saying I  use a basal in my classroom ,but I also supplement with many additional literature sets and activities.  So I had mixed feelings about sitting in on this workshop...   but I must say I was impressed!  The series is called Wonders by McGraw-Hill. 

If you want to take a peek for yourself check out their site here:Wonders by McGraw-Hill

I was most impressed by the rigor of this series.  The series appears to be very prescribed with specific activities and readings for each day, but I can also see where as you get comfortable with the series, adding in your own extras.  It includes cold reads, paired readings, and shared readings each and every week.  There is also differentiation activities and online resources to use with your tier 2 students.  It includes weekly assessments, unit assessments, and benchmark assessments that can be printed or taken by students online.  The digital aspect of this series is just as impressive.  Everything included in this series is digital.  There is even a lesson planning work mat in which you can drag and drop the items on the days you plan to use them.  This series would be great for curriculum mapping.

I've never been a huge fan of the basal, but I was quite impressed with this series and how well it is aligned to the Common Core.   If you are familiar with this series or piloting it, I would love to hear what you think.  We should  find out more in the coming weeks on whether or not a few of us will be piloting this series next year.

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AND here's what we've been up to at home:

Weekend basketball marathons

Our 2 oldest boys are playing Upwards basketball. It's so much fun to watch them play!  It keeps us hopping on Saturday mornings.

Gearing up for Preschool

Our littlest darlin' went for a preschool screening this week. It's hard to believe our "baby" will be old enough for preschool next Fall.   Let's just say our little guy did not cooperate in the least.  ( He did hop on one foot and throw a ladybug at a flower, but refused to tell them his name, count, or show that he knows his colors.  When asked questions, he whispered the answers.  I didn't even know our little guy was capable of whispering.  Ugh!  He's just a wee bit strong willed.) So... we get to try it again in a couple of weeks.  Who knew a preschool screening could be so stressful!!

AND lastly, I've been working hard on this:

I've lost about 13 pounds so far since the first of the year.  Which is the absolutely amazing to me because I've tried several different dieting plans and NOTHING worked for me. ( I would just give up and blame it on the fact that I was getting older.)  Lately,I feel so much better and have so much more energy. ( It probably helps that I haven't been staying up all hours of the night working on school stuff either.) I've been working with a trainer who has prescribed a work out plan and nutrition plan.   The plan includes eating 6 meals a day and including lots of protein packed and low carb foods.  Now that I'm on the second phase of this plan, I get a "cheat" day once a week.  Woohoo!

A couple of my new favorite healthy recipes can be found below.  Thanks Teri for these great ideas!  :)

Blueberry Protein Smoothie

1 scoop of protein powder

1 cup of almond milk ( I am loving this stuff!)

2 ounces of plain Greek yogurt

and a handful of blueberries

* I also add in a packet of Splenda

This is usually a mid morning snack.

Green bean chili

Chop 1 cup of green peppers and onions

Then place in skillet and brown

Add in 1 pound of 97% fat free ground turkey

Sprinkle in chili powder to season to your liking

In a large crockpot add 1 large can of Ro-Tel ( I use mild) and 2 cans of green beans. 

Add in the turkey and onion mixture.

 I am trying to add variety to my menu.  I would love to hear some of your favorite low carb recipes.

Have a great weekend!  I hope you find some time to relax and recharge your batteries!!!