August Currently

It's the beginning of August, which for many means school is right around the corner, I'll be singing that song with the September Currently, but for now a few more weeks of summer & a link up with Farley from Oh' Boy 4th Grade for August Currently.

I'm listening & trying to watch the 80s movie Little Monsters with Fred Savage & Howie Mandel. I loved this movie as a kid & when my sister told me it was OnDemand, I had to watch it.

I'm loving that it's still summer. I still have 4 more days of summer school left & I'm already in back-to-school mode, but it's still a nice feeling knowing there's nothing I absolutely have to do (except read through my loooong list of summer reading).

I'm already thinking about my writing curriculum & how my co-teacher and I should approach writing this year. After reading Stephanie from 3rd Grade Thoughts different posts on how she does writing in her classroom, I was TOTALLY inspired. If you haven't ever read them you can find them here (scroll to the bottom), she has some great stuff happening in her room.

I'm really wanting to work on my classroom. We moved to a different room for this school year & this is what it looked like a few weeks ago...

Luckily it doesn't look like this anymore. It might actually be worse, since we've started rearranging & unpacking. My library is done & all the boxes are at least unpacked (for the most part). But I have that extreme teacher urge to be in there & organize everything.

I'm needing to have my hubby make me some crate seats for my room. My co-teacher & I acquired a round, blue table from a teacher that was transferred to another school; however, it use to be a pre-school table so it's very low, too low for an adult to work at, so we're thinking of making it a table for our writing center. I also happen to have a lot of crates in my room, which I stored in the closet last year; however, in my new room my closet isn't as big. I'm also all about alternative seating (if you can see the orange ball in the corner of one of the pics above, it's a yoga ball that my kiddos can sit on). We also have multiple chairs in the library, as well as oversized pillows to go with our small IKEA end tables that kids can sit at. As long as you're working I don't care where you sit. 

For my B2S RAK I was thinking of making these for my team and a few other colleagues.

From Inspiration for Moms

There's always a day we could all use a little chocolate.

If you're heading back to school I hope you have a great year, if not enjoy your last weeks of summer.

July Currently

I always feel like I'm late to this party and it's only the 2nd day of the month. Oh well, I'm here now linking up with Farley's July Currently.

Listening...
To the TV in the other room. I think The Chew is on right now, it's more background noise. I don't really like the house to be quiet, yet I don't like when my son gets loud and rowdy. That's weird. I like quiet but I don't.

Loving...
Today is my 5th wedding anniversary and my hubby actually has off from work. How did I get so lucky for the schedule to work out like that? He's an EMT/Paramedic so he works shift work on a rotating schedule & we don't always get this lucky.

Some pics of us the last 5 years

Thinking...
About what I should make for my family's 4th of July BBQ on the 5th. Here's my Sweets page on Pinterest. There's just so many choices I don't know what to go with. For Memorial Day I made a Chocolate Brownie Trifle, it was so good.

Wanting...
More time....summer school starts on Monday (see needing) & I'm excited for it, but I've kind of gotten spoiled these last 2 weeks, staying up late, getting to sleep till 8. Starting Monday back to bed at a reasonable time & up at 6:00, so I can get myself & my son ready to be dropped off with his grandparents.

Needing...
To finish getting myself together for summer school. I need to find some more resources, make copies, print & laminate centers, & finish making some centers. A corner in my office of the stuff I have to take to summer school, plus the stuff I've bought in the last few days. I need to sit down & reorganize it & make sure I have everything I need. Ugghhh...where did the last 2 weeks go? Why do I procrastinate so much?

All Star...
At first I put organizing, because I love to organize & re-organize, but let's face it it never stays that way, then as I'm writing this blog & wondering why I procrastinate so much, I realized I'm an All Star at working under pressure, when I'm racing the clock. I think I've come up with some of my best lessons or activities at the last minute or on the fly.

I can't wait to go through the linky & read about what everyone else is doing as we sit in the middle of summer on the brink of getting our bodies & minds in gear for another school year.

Have a happy and safe 4th!!!

December Currently

I can't believe it, I'm actually doing a link. I've neglected this blog so much since school started & I started my first full time position, which I'm loving by the way. So tonight I'm linking up with Farley from Oh' Boy 4th Grade for her December Currently.

LISTENING:

My son is watching Toy Story on the Disney channel. I don't mind though. This trilogy is my all time favorite. Besides it's a welcome break from Wreck It Ralph, another good movie, but we've watched it everyday for weeks.

LOVING:

I've beed adding to my Tpt wish list and I'm super excited to stock up on products that look like they are going to be very useful for me and my kiddos. The one downfall of special ed, my kids are so low, that I need material ranging from 1st-4th. 1st & 2nd because that's where the majority of their reading levels are and 3rd & 4th because that's their grade levels. Oh well it is what it is and we are working on becoming better readers while preparing for the NJASK in the Spring. The thought of that test makes me sad for them.

THINKING:

I still have A LOT of 3rd grade skills to cover for this unit before the benchmark, in roughly 3 weeks. Yes you've done the math correctly. Our 3rd grade Language Arts benchmark test is scheduled for the Tuesday before winter break. Really?!? Since I'm Resource I have the flexibility to push it back, but making my kiddos wait until after break seems unfair too. "Hey welcome back now remember everything I taught you before Winter Break? No! Fantastic! Here's a test on it." So it's time to shift our gears and get through what we can.

WANTING:
My little guy is 2 & 1/2 (3 in March) & I don't know about my husband, but I had so much fun shopping for him this year, for Christmas. He's at that age where he's starting to understand the concept of Santa. He keeps talking about Santa visiting him at Mommom's (my grand mom's house) on Christmas Eve & is asking that Santa bring him a dump truck. I can't wait to see his face when he unwraps that dump truck. And we got him the Imaginext Rescue City, which he plays with every time he sees it in the story. It'll be so much fun for me to see his excitement when he opens that. Our only frownie face is that in our house, our Christmas morning is the morning after Christmas because my husband works shift work and has to work on Christmas. Oh well, at least my son is still young enough that he doesn't know the date that Santa is suppose to come.

NEEDING:
To make an assessment for character traits and POV for my 3rd graders. I've been putting it off all break, like everything else. There's no better time than the last minute, right?

FAVORITE TRADITION:
Every Christmas Eve my entire family & some extended family comes to my Mommom's house and Santa comes and hands out gifts and the cousins do a Pollyanna style exchange. It's my absolute favorite day of the year. All of my family together with food and gifts, it's the best. And now that all of us grandkids are older, many of us have kids of our own, so my Mommom's house is just about busting at the seems, but I wouldn't have it any other way!!!!

Remember the Tpt Cyber Monday & Tuesday sale starts tomorrow. My store is on sals as well!

And make sure to link up with Farley for the December Currently and let us know what's up!!!

September Currently

I know I've been quite absent lately, not even blog stalking {sigh}, but there's just so much to do to get ready & not enough time.

So today I'm linking up with Farley from Oh Boy Fourth Grade for the September Currently. {I know I broke the unspoken rule of not double posting in one day, but I wanted to link up with Farley & I needed to start my Sharpener Giveaway today, be sure to check it out.}

Listening: Watching "Hotel Transylvania" while trying to quickly get this post out, then move onto work stuff {sigh} & listening to the sounds of my toddler babbling in his crib, when he should be napping.

Loving: My cousin's Bachelorette Party was this weekend, yes the whole weekend, with different activities everyday. She's very Type A, but it was wonderful to not be mommy this weekend, even though I did miss my little guy.

The soon-to-be bride & I on the party bus on the way to Atlantic City, Saturday night. 

Thinking: Now that I have a full time job, again, it's time for my little guy to go to pre-school. He's 2&1/2 & yearns to play with kids his own age, I know he'll be okay, but I'm still having trouble with the thought of leaving him.

Wanting: Why does it always rain on Labor Day? Every year the small town my dad grew up in has a carnival & we ALWAYS go on Monday night & of course it's raining right now. It needs to clear out before tonight, this is family tradition & I struggle with not doing it.

Needing: Like a mentioned before, I have a full time position this year. FINALLY!!! My part-time district hired me as a full time resource teacher for language arts for 3rd & 4th grade. I'm so excited, but I feel like I still have a million things to do & prepare & not enough money or necessary materials, so I'm freaking out a bit. My type A personality rearing it's ugly head, again, that it all has to be ready before the kids come on Thursday. I literally had to write a note on my dry erase frame on my desk to breathe that it'll all get done.

Loving Myself:
1.) I love to read & really want to keep reading for fun after school starts & the craziness begins.
2.) Since this is my first year full time & I am a mommy, my goal is to not stay late every night at work. The last of the buses should leave by 3:30 (I have bus duty), so my goal is to leave by 4:30 or sooner, at least 2 days a week or more.
3.) Now that my paycheck will substantially be bigger, I really need to keep up on manicures & pedicures, as a treat to myself.

Remember to check out my giveaway of The Quietest Classroom Sharpener ever. It's now offered in precious pink, super cute!!!

I hope everyone is having a great long weekend & if you're headed back to school this week, like me, good luck!

August Currently (a giveaway & a linky)

Oh boy I completely forgot it was the beginning of August & time for Currently with Farley from Oh' Boy 4th Grade. Good thing I started stalking scrolling through my Bloglovin feed. So here it is....

I don't think there's too much to explain here.

I'm skipping the listening, I think that is obvious.

LOVING: I'm participating in Covered in Glitter & Glue & Adventures with Ms. Smith's Back to School Blogger Exchange, it's like a secret pal kind of thing, then when you receive your package you link up & show off the awesome thing your buddy sent you. And the other thing I'm loving is Lessons with Coffee's  SLANT Box (Sending Love Across the Nation to Teachers), where you get to know 2 bloggers every month by communicating with them & then sending 1 a box of goodies based on the theme & what you've learned about them & you get a goodie box from the other person you communicated with. Check it out, there's still a few days to sign up.

THINKING: I have some fabulous things I created for my Back to School Blogger Exchange buddy that I need to print, but we have a new printer that has different cartridges for different colors (I don't know how to work those), so I need the hubby to change out the ink, that way I can print my creations beautifully for my buddy.

WANTING: Yes you read that correctly. It's finally happened. My 2 year old accidently call 9-1-1 at my in-laws while my MIL was brushing her teeth. It's a good thing my brother-in-law is a Captain for the police department where my in-laws live, so I don't think there will be a fine. But if you knew my son, then you'd know he's a talker & still talks gibberish sometimes, so I'm really curious what he told the operator. Was he talking about mommy & daddy? Blankie & lunch? or gibberish?

NEEDING: This is an on-going saga & I'm so frustrated & stressed out about whether or not I'm going to have a full time job for September, if not I still have my part-time one.

Oh boy can't believe it's August already!?! Where did the summer go? I hope to see you linking up with Farley & remember I'm hosting my own Back-to-School Mixer linky, I hope to see you there as well & there's still time to enter my Quietest Classroom Sharpener giveaway.

Currently-July & a giveaway

Happy July 1st everyone! Today I'm linking up with Farley from Oh' Boy 4th Grade for the July Currently.

Listening

This weekend, my husband & I began the quest of potty training our son...Oh Boy!!! So right now the washing machine is washing everything that has pee-pee on it. My little guy gets to spend the day tomorrow & Wednesday with his Meem (my mother-in-law), hopefully she can make more progress than we have...he sure is stubborn & has an idea about what he does & doesn't want to do.

Loving

I just bought new sneakers for the first time...in oh I think about 2 years, at least. They're from Payless, cause let's be honest, my summer job isn't paying a whole lot, but some is better than nothing. And these little ol' Payless sneakers are more comfortable than standing in flip-flops all day, especially for me since I'm flat footed.

Thinking

My interview tomorrow is for a resource room position in my current district. I would love to be full time in this district. It's the district I graduated from & I still live in town, for the time being, and I've met some awesome people here. I really don't want to leave. Little nervous though my interview is with the Supervisor of Special Services, since the position falls under the special ed department's jurisdiction & I'm worried about any special ed. specific questions. I'm not really current on anything special ed related. Though I hear what she looks for and likes to see in the classroom, even in a small group setting, is my style of teaching...centers-based. Hoping & praying this goes well!

Wanting

I took a summer job this year at a summer enrichment camp for the company I tutor for & oh boy is it trying my patience. It's always interesting when the kids range from 1st grade to 7th grade (and maybe higher, depending on any late enrollments). It's probably going to be a long summer! {sigh}

Needing

I'm currently working on a polka dot classroom decor pack & I really need to get myself in high gear to have it finished in time to put up for those of you that start in August. I don't go back until the beginning of September and I have to keep reminding myself that not everyone goes back that late.

Tips, Tricks, or Hints

I love joining linky parties. Sometime I'm not sure what to write about & the linkies give me a focus. I've also found some amazing blogs that way & I know others have found my blog that way too. There are so many great weekly linky parties to join & this summer there have been some great ones popping up.

I joined the Bloglovin giveaway. If you haven't had a chance to enter my giveaway there's still time. It ends Tuesday night at midnight, I'll announce the winner Wednesday. Click the picture below to go to my post & enter the giveaway.

And be on the look out tomorrow for my 100+ followers giveaway. I'm so excited to host this giveaway & allow my fabulous followers the chance to win some awesome prizes as a huge thank you of my appreciation for following me.

One more giveaway announcement...sorry...be sure to check out Amy's 100 Followers giveaway over at 24/7 Teacher there are awesome prizes being given away & I'm also offering choice of my Tpt store. 

Click the picture to go to the giveaway

Currently June

This is going to be short & sweet. I'm linking up with Farley for the Currently June linky.

If you're a regular follower of mine, then you kind of know about my journey to getting my own classroom (full-time), which is truly my thinking, needing, & wanting, but I didn't want to be too redundant. I'm so inspired by all the fabulous teachers here that I just want to get into my own classroom and let those creative wheels start turning. 

That's enough for today, time to get moving.

By the way I typed this whole thing using just my right-hand, because my son is sitting on my lap engrossed in his movie. Oh the talents of a mom!