Winter Break

So as most teachers this time of year, I am on winter break.  This winter break has been very quiet around here.  Which, for me, is very unusual.  I thought I would be board, but it has given me time to get back to some things I enjoy outside of education.

While I know most people who read teacher blogs, are, well, other teachers, I have decided to blog about my life outside of education as well.  And since it is winter break, and I am not currently teaching, I figure now is a good time as any to start.

So here is what I have been up to.  Like many teachers, I LOVE pinterest!  But the time I have spent on pinterest has not been looking at education ideas.  I have been looking are recipes.  I don't know about you, but I have been getting board with eating the same old stuff.

A few months ago, I started getting better with my meal prepping.  I invested in some bento-type boxes from Amazon.  Here are the ones I use.  I like the three compartments, but chose something that you will use.

On Sundays, I laid out boxes for breakfast and lunch.  I am one of those people who you might refer to as a FOODIE.  So for me, this was a challenge.  In no way, is what I do going to work for everyone, but I am the type of person who counts calories.  I have been doing it consistently for about a year now.  The reason I started with counting calories is because I knew that I would not stick with it if I could not eat what I want.  For me, it is about a balance and potion control.

This is a sample of one of my bento boxes.  This was based off of a Starbucks Protein Box.  This was enough for me for lunch.  I also have a few ideas for breakfast as well.

The basic idea is to have some sort of protein and then add fruits and vegetables.  Fruits and veggies are typically low in calories, but filling.  I tend to use what is in season at the time, but you can use what you prefer.

You can also use dinner leftovers.

I made meatballs one night with mashed potatoes and broccoli.  Since I made everything from scratch, I was able to count the calories for the portions.  I use MyFitnessPal to help me do that, but I also look for recipes that include nutritional information.  While I know this is not an exact way to count calories, eating better starts with getting a general idea of what you are eating.

While I do not have pictures of all of my boxes, I have included a limited list of ideas I have tried.  Remember, you can eat what you like within limitations.

• Water Crackers, Laughing Cow Cheese Wedge, Blueberries, Apple
• Cheese, Crackers, Fruit
• Cottage Cheese, Cheerios, Yogurt
• Banana, Toast or English Muffin, Hard Boiled Egg
• Sandwich, Blueberries, Pretzels
• Chicken, Green Beans, Apple
• Cucumber, Hard Boiled Egg, Yogurt

The other thing that has helped me be successful in the past is the amount of water I drink.  I was not always good at drinking water.  I started slowly by tracking my water in take and now it just comes natural to me.  In fact, I prefer water over other drinks lately.  For my birthday, my hubby bought me a new water bottle that holds fruit.  Did someone say strawberry flavored water!?  That kicked my water in take up!  It tastes SO good. 

Once I got my water in take all set up, I started kicking out caffeine.  I know you are asking yourself how that worked and if I have been successful, but that is for another post.

New Year's 2018

Hey blogger friends!

I do not know how you keep up with your blog on a regular basis.  Just like every year, I vow to try to update my blog.

It seems like every year, more and more gets put on your plate and something has to give.  Unfortunately, it seems to be my blog.  The weird thing is, I have all of these things I want to post and intend to post, but for some reason, I never seem to get around to typing it up.

But with the new year, I will once again TRY my very best with the blog.  The good news is, I have been working on updating my TPT store.  I even added some freebies!

Some FREEBIES:

Addition Fact Fluency to 20

Younger (1st/2nd grade) Math

Winter Task Cards

Older (3rd/4th grade) Math

Product Update

Ok teacher friends!  I know that everyone is super busy being awesome teachers.  I wanted to share some things I have made that have been working well in my classroom.  You can see them at my TPT site.

Quick writes help students increase their ability to write. I use these as a warm-up and have students complete 2 or 3 a week.

This is a growing pack. There are currently 10 writing prompts.            

Happy November!

You will find four reading passages for November. Each passage has the lexiles labeled. Each passage also has an emphasis on citing evidence from the text.

Check out a FREE SAMPLE here.

This pack includes 24 NO PREP worksheets and task cards for students. These are great for extra practice, guest teachers, homework, and more!              

The kinder math pack is a growing bundle as I make stuff to meet the needs of my students. Please check back often.

Currently, there are 8 pages of no prep worksheets that cover the following:

*Count and Write Numbers
*Tracing Numbers
*Identify and Color Numbers
*Drawing Models
*Word Problems
*Color by Number            

Includes 16 math pages that you can simply print and go. Use them as review or to support your core lessons.

This is a growing bundle.            

I made these anchor charts to use with my small groups. I glued them on a file folder and laminated them. My students use them as a resource when they do their work.

In this file, you will get my decoding strategies anchor chart, blends and digraphs anchor chart, and the decoding strategies for the wall.

I will update with more anchor charts as I find them useful for my students.            

Already Planning for Back to School

I know I just posted about being on summer break, but I cannot help but to start thinking about next year.  This is something I always think about near the end of the year/summer.

I was cleaning out my files and I have started compiling the forms that I use to manage my classroom.  I have decided to turn it into an EDITABLE document to share with you!  While this pack is not just for back to school, I refer to it that way because at the beginning of the year is when I prepare the forms for the year and TRY to get ahead.  It does not always work, but every year I try.

Anyway, I am sharing my forms and I will add to them as I find more in my files.  You can check them out here!

Here is a sneak peek:

Summer Break Here I Come!

Oh my has so much changed since my last post!?  Let's see where to start.  I got married in March, bought a house in April, and graduated with my Master's Degree in May.  Can you say busy!?

Now that summer break is here, I am ready to HOPEFULLY, get back to blogging and adding some new goodies to TPT.  I was looking through my store and I realized that some of my products could probably use a little TLC.

Since I will have a little more free time, I am hoping to start reading for pleasure more and get back to blogging.  I am sorry that it had to take the back seat while I was busy planning a wedding and finishing my Master's Degree.

But, I am back and I hope to be back for good.  So here is to a happy summer break for all the hard working teachers out there who deserve a little time to themselves (at least a week--I know teachers still work over the summer, but don't forget to give yourself time to relax) after giving all they have to the children.

Useful Blog Links

I am collecting links to useful information for back-to-school time.  I love reading about how other teachers organize themselves in the classroom.  Here are some useful tools and ideas I have found from other teachers!

Using Google Forms for Data

Schools Out for Summer! SALE

School is out and that puts me in the mood for a sale!  I also added a few FREEBIES.

My task cards are all 15% off until Saturday! Grab 3.OA.1 for free here!  If you like them, you can grab 3.MD.4, 3.MD.8, and 3.NBT.2.

I have added a line plot practice sheet for free.  Grab it here!