February Currently - Oh Boy First Grade Linky Party

I know it is a little late, but I didn't want to miss out on the February fun!

Listening:

Yes I know it is sounds crazy but when I started teaching my Preps I decided to start every day with Circle Time. The first song we learned to sing was 'Wash your face in orange juice', and since then the kids have been asking for it every day. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY! This week I thought I would give them another Peter Combe song to learn, so we started Juicy, juicy green grass. And we STILL demand 'the silly song EVERY DAY!!!!!! But hey, at least I have happy little 4 year olds who love their morning Circle Time.

Loving:

I have spent exactly 11 days teaching Prep now, and I honestly think I have found my place in this world. I am loving it! Well, I mean, except for the constant smelling of 'number 2's' in my room...

Thinking:

At school we have adopted ASOT (Art and Science of Teaching) and our central thing is learning goals. Our kids are each given their own personal learning goal and we track how they progress. I do love them because we can arrange a goal to suit everyone, and allow all of our kids to celebrate some success. We have also now been given some cool button badges for the kids to wear when they achieve their learning goals.

Wanting:

I don't know why, but both my hubby and I are great at creating mess in the kitchen, and lounge room, and bedroom, and bathroom - ok, pretty much the whole house. In fact, my 13 year old son's room is cleaner than ours! I definitely need a house that can clean itself!

Needing:

This year, the big difference for me has been not having any idea of who I had coming into my classroom, or what their skill levels might be. I have been spending every spare second I may have - while my absolutely amazing TA Jenny keeps our kiddos on task - doing letter recognition, number recognition, counting, name-writing, and every other assessment I can think of to get a clear picture of what I am supposed to target this year.

Pageant Title:

In Prep, from the time my kids walk in the door at 8.40am, to the time the last child leaves after 3pm, I do not stop. No kidding. Sometimes, I don;t even manage to fit in a toilet break before home time. So, this seems like a suitable pageant title - Don't Stop.

Happy Learning!

January Currently - Oh' Boy 4th Grade Linky Party

Well, on Wednesday night my family and I welcomed in 2015 at the local Bribie Island fireworks. 2014 was a huge year for us. We got married and I 'offically' became step-mum to my 2 teenage boys (slightly difficult for me to wrap my head around this occasionally given that I am only 24 myself! Joys of marrying an older man ;), and saw my sister get engaged to her man. I struggled through a very tough year with a very tough class of Grade 1s only to be told in November that I will be kicking off 2015 by teaching Prep. And my husband and I kissed goodbye to 2014 by going to see 'The Lion King' on stage in Brisbane - a musical I have dreamed of seeing for 10 years! It has been a big one!

So I have decided to kick off 2015 by linking up with Farley over at 'Oh Boy 4th Grade' to join in her January 'Currently' Linky Party.

*Listening - Yes I am in love with Taylor Swift's music at the moment. I might be driving my family nuts listening to it all the time, but hey, it makes me smile :)

*Loving - I love my job, but seriously, who wouldn't be enjoying having 5 weeks to relax, unwind and spend time doing the things you just don't have time to do during school term. I have finally caught up on reading 'Sapphire Skies', the latest book from my favourite author, Belinda Alexandra. I have had a chance to take out the pencils and sketch a bit, and even catch up on some fun resources I have been wanting to create for ages.

*Thinking - I swear I spend every waking minute about my new classroom. I am constantly changing my mind on how to decorate it, arrange it, organise it, the list goes on... I KNOW this one is driving my hubby insane :)

*Wanting - I have sooooooo many resources to print and laminate before the beginning of school, and all I can think is how much it is going to cost in ink and pouches...and how broke I am at the moment *sigh*

*Needing - I stepped on the scales yesterday... Time to get back to the gym!

*Yes - Soooooooooooooooooooooooo need to get myself organised this year. Last year was just exhausting and alot fell by the wayside. Time to get on top of things - starting with my new teacher binder I am creating.  

*Maybe - Need to work out a balance where I can take some personal time every now and then to indulge in my favourite things.

*A Wish - I am not the most confident of people. I definitely need to start believing in myself more. It is definitely scary moving to a new year level, but I really want to make my mark and create a niche for myself with my new year-level team.

Click on the link below to see more January Currently posts

One Word Resolution Linky Party

Today I am linking up with Primary Powers for a brilliant idea...

My resolution for 2015 is to inspire my Preppies as much as I can to give them a fun and happy idea of what 'big' school is all about. Having taught Grade 1 for 2 years, I know how important the very first year at school is for a child. My goal is all about making sure that my kids have an enjoyable time in my (now their) classroom and help them to develop a positive attitude toward learning. This means Circle Time, fun and engaging centers, and 'Thinking Play' - something I am looking forward to the most! (Further posts will be made in due course ;) )

Fourteen in '14 Linky Party

This famous quote from Walt Disney has been my inspiration for many years now. Whatever happens, look to the future and stop dwelling on the past!

My wedding dress!!!

I am definitely a child at heart <3

 Too hard to choose :)

This one actually happened at the very end of last year, but it is by far my favourite!

Well I am not exactly afraid of heights... I just don't like them. So going for a ride in a hot air balloon was a little scary. I felt my blood run cold when my then-fiancee surprised me with this. I was quaking in my boots! but once we got up in the air, it was just amazing! I loved every minute of it!

...oh and then there's the fact that he took that opportunity to propose to me too... hehehe - Love my man <3

I think my favourite gift would have to be a wedding present from a dear friend of mine. Becky could not attend our wedding because she was on a holiday in America, but she totally redeemed herself by bringing us back a pair of newly-wed Mickey and Minnie Mouse ear hats - embroidered with our names :) So awesome for a Disney-lover like myself :)

The CUPS or Where Did All My Stuff Go?

My favourite pin from 2014 is a pin all about classroom organisation. I saw this one from 'Going Nutty with Miss Squirrels!' and decided that it would be my inspiration for organizing my classroom supplies in 2015. Such a great post - and hilarious as well!

My favourite post for 2014 has to be my post all about spelling and phonics. I was absolutely amazed at how engaged my kids became as the year progressed in learning their spelling patterns - especially in identifying consonant blends in words! You can read all about my spelling and phonics activities in my post Spelling and Phonics.

Finally getting my blog up and running! I have been trying for 12 months and things have been so hectic that I just never got around to it properly. I am looking forward to keeping up to date with it next year :)

I have a few...

My first dance with my husband,

Having my boys as groomsmen,

My family and Matt's joining together,

And my always beautiful best friend/Maid of Honour.

Hands down, the most amazing moment for 2014 would have to be walking down the aisle with my beautiful mother beside me, to meet my man and two step-sons at the alter. I swear I nearly cried seeing them standing up there - especially seeing my gorgeous boys all dressed up in the suit and ties!

Get organised! I definitely want to spend more time on weekly organisation and planning. This year has been such a tough one and I swear all of the Grade 1 teachers in my school were too exhausted by the end to keep up with everything. This year I hope to be different...

To end my year on a positive, I have a sale running on my tot store through til New Years Eve, where every item in my store will be on sale. Hop on over and pick up a bargain!

Happy Learning!

Fabulous in First - Christmas Questionnaire Linky-Party

This Link-Up was simply too cute to not join in :)

1. When do you decorate?

Usually I am pretty 'on-top' of Christmas decorations and they are put up on the first weekend of the season. This year has been so crazy though, so our Christmas decorations are ready to be set up tomorrow! This is how Christmas usually goes in my house... Yes I have 2 step-sons - one 13 year old, and one 12 year old. No you are not seeing things - last year we found some pink princess wrapping paper, as well as purple Tinkerbell paper. How else do you have fun with teenage sons? They loved it :) Oh, and our animals loved their Christmas stockings too :)

2. Elf or no elf?

Since I only met my boys when they were 10 and 11, I never had a chance to do the 'Elf on a Shelf' stuff. Hopefully one day I will have a chance to with a little one :)

3. Christmas Cookies or No Baking for You?

We don't normally bake too much around Christmas, however I do love to dabble with no-bake sweet treats my favourite would have to be rum balls - minus the rum, oh and rocky road - minus the nuts (yes I am a picky eater hehe)

4. Favorite Holiday Tradition?

Every year when I was younger, my family and I would attend the local Christmas Carols by Candlelight at our church. When we moved to Queensland, we started a new tradition of watching the Carols in the Domain on TV, and everyone would sing along. Now I have my own kids, and I still love it. Every year, I cuddle up on the couch and have my night to watch the carols (my teenagers aren't too interested...)

5. Favorite Christmas Movie? 

I am a huge child at heart, and my favourite movies definitely prove it - The Grinch, The Polar Express, and my favourite from when I was little - Mickey's Christmas Carol :)

6. Snow or No Snow? 

I live in sunny Queensland, Australia so I have honestly never seen the sow in my life time - let alone Christmas. Definitely something I have to do before I kick the bucket!

7. Favorite Christmas Song?

'Do You Hear What I Hear?' has always been a favourite of mine, along with 'The Little Drummer Boy' and 'Silent Night.'

8. Favorite Gifts to Give and Get? 

I am a craft nut and absolutely love making gifts. I have scrapbooked photos in frames for friends, drawn pictures, created albums, and scrapbooked quotes as gifts. I also love finding fun stuff as 'gag' gifts for everyone. It really is so much fun. Last year, my eldest son was joking about wanting pink socks, so guess what he got for Christmas? YEP! Pink frilly, lacy socks! And then since my hubby always cooks and kicks me out of the kitchen, he may have received his very own Mrs Clause apron. Then there are the pretty princess tiaras and clips we found for both my boys last Christmas... ^insert evil laugh^ I find ways to have fun!

Receiving gifts however - I am just happy to be given anything, but this one takes the cake :)

This is the hamper my boys put together last year, and it met my criteria for an awesome present:

• purple stuff
• chocolates
• school stuff
• cats
• fairies
• Disney

I LOVE my boys <3 

Well, this is a glimpse of my life at Christmas time. It is not too over the top, but it works for us, and we love it anyway :) 

Oh, and just as an end note, this Christmas cannot come fast enough as on Christmas Eve, my hubby and I have some tickets to a rather exciting stage musical... I am so excited!!!!!!!

If you would like to add to the linky-party just click on the image below.

Merry Christmas!

A Christmas Conversation - Linky Party with The Inspired Apple

This is just something different and awesome - love it :)

If you would like to join the Link-Up head on over to The Inspired Apple to grab the template :)

Happy Learning!

Five for Friday - It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

WOOHOO! ^ Insert *Happy Dance* here ^ Here in Australia, we are only 5 days away from our 6 week Christmas vacation period! We are all getting just a little excited at my school :D

So we have had a little time to get into some fun stuff this week. Here are my Top 5 things for my week :)

Playing with Christmas Poetry

Last weekend I found the most adorable poem online called 'In Lollipop Land' by . It is just the cutest Christmas poem and I just had to use it in class this week. We played with the poem, read it over and over again. I used the poem for my Read to Learn program and it was so much fun. Every week we have a different focus text which I write out on card and we cut up. We play Swat it, make silly sentences, re-sequence the text and make a cloze. Like I said, heaps of fun.

Usually my classroom is a very hectic place to work. I do love my job, but sometimes I end the day thinking 'Why do I do this to myself?' You see, I have a tough class this year. Very physical boys who came to me with very little social skills. So this year have been spent trying to teach my kids appropriate classroom behaviour, as well as social interaction skills. Where am I going with this... Oh yeah - on Thursday this week, I had a beautiful day (absolutely nothing to do with some of my behavioural high-fliers being absent *wink, wink*). so I decided to make it extra fun. First, I pulled out a heap of our favourite math activities Kids loved it. I loved it. And there were no fights! 

In the afternoon, we started our special 'Christmas Bingo.' This basically involved 9 activities that I placed on a set of shelves, and throughout the afternoon the kids decided which they would complete. As they finished each activity I signed them off. This was a great was to end our day, and the kids were so excited about it that when they walked in the room on Friday morning, the first question they asked was 'Can we do our bingo stuff?' So cute, and awesome to see them excited about school activities!

This was our favourite activity for the week. Last year I made this one as a write the room and the kids searched the room to find each card. This year I thought I would shake it up with something a little different. I pulled out my rainbow rice and made it a search and find activity - I had kids constantly coming over to me to find out when it would be their turn! Man were they excited about it!

Well I thought I would save the best til last...

2 weeks ago I found out what year level I have next year, Monday I went into planning for next year, and yesterday I went to check out my room. Although I cannot yet say what I will be teaching, I can tell you I am very excited about it, and I am also now looking for plenty of ideas and activities I can make over the Christmas holidays! Fun times over here.

If you are still looking for Christmas resources for your own classroom, I have placed all of my Christmas items on sale for a short time only. I have a rage of maths and literacy center activities, as well as a packet of literacy and maths practise activity sheets. Follow the link below to check them all out.

How was your week?

Happy Learning!