Mrs. Tina's Tots

Hey y'all!! It's been a crazy three weeks of school! I am LOVING being in upper elementary, and it has taken me no time at all to feel comfortable with kids in this age group again! :) I have a lot of different things I want to share from the first 3 weeks, but first I wanted to start out sharing a song! :) My fifth graders have not had a very strong background in language, and they were really struggling with finding the subjects, and predicates. No matter how many times I went over it, or how many interactive activities we did with it I had almost half my class that still didn't get it. I NEEDED to move on, and I was racking my brain, when Taylor Swift's "Shake it off" started playing on my shower radio. And the lyrics just came to me. I was hoping the kids would like it so I sang it for my daughter who's in second grade, and she just LOVED it. The lyrics are simple and repetitive, because I needed to teach it in one day so they would have it in their br

Hey y'all can we first just Oooh and Aaaahhhh over my new blog design!! I am so in love with it ! Shanon and Courtney from Blogs Fit For a Queen did a fantastic job, and the whole process went so quickly! In fact they were always waiting on me to make up my mind about things! :) I appreciate them being so patient, and easy to work with! I have been MIA lately, but I have a lot of really good reasons! :) To kinda recap the end of my summer I'm going to link up with doodlebugs teaching for her Five for Friday linky! It's more of a summer summary though! I finally graduated from graduate school!! I am so excited! It's been a crazy 2ish years, but it was well worth it. This year is going to be a whole new world with out homework looming over my head every weekend! :) I'm excited to be able to use this  time to work on lessons for my class and TpT! Please excuse the crazy cap. I shoved it back on really fast to take a pic with my little! :) My husb

Hey friends! The beginning of July was a lot busier than I anticipated!! And, my summer of no worries is officially over! Even though my teacher brain never turns off completely I took a month after we got out of school, and worked only on things I wanted to, only after my kids had gone to bed. This summer was about family time, and we packed A TON into June! :) So, as Jed Bartlett would say, (any other west wing fans??) "What's next!" Here is a rundown of what I have planned for the rest of July! I anticipate it is going to be busy and productive...hopefully! :) FOR SCHOOL * Next week I am leaving on Monday and taking my daughter to gymnastics. Then, I am meeting my mom for lunch, and dropping my kids off with her for the week. I am going to a PLC conference out of town, and my husband works nights 2 of the nights I'll be gone so they enjoy spending the week at Grammy and Big Pa's. :) * The week after that I'm headed our for a literacy coach training

Hey guys! How in the world is it July already??!! July is the month this year that is going to get crazy busy, and hectic. While I love it, I've also loved the slow pace of my June. It was perfect. I promised my kids June. No working, no crazy projects, nothing but finishing up grad school which I was able to do at night while they were sleeping most of the time. We so needed some slow quiet, and fun time together! July is a whole different kind of beast. Back to school prep, PD, etc... I already saw composition notebooks and loose leaf paper on sale so it. is. coming! :) It's raining today on our 4th of July celebrations so we are taking another slow day, and while everyone is napping I thought I'd link up with Farley for her Currently linky ! :) Listening: to the rain, and the quiet. My whole family is napping, even the dog and cat! We had a really fun morning at the Clinton Presidential Library. Today was a free day, and they have an awesome dinosaur exhibit right no

Hey y'all!! I am so behind this week, as I was busy with VBS and visiting my parents! Plus, I'm still in the middle of graduate school so I'm just now getting to post! I thought I'd better hurry up before the next challenge was announced. ;) This week we were challenged to dream big, and share what we wanted our TpT store to accomplish. I'm not gonna lie, this challenge was a bit scary for me. I don't like to put my personal goals out there. I almost didn't. But, then I read some of the most amazing stories, and personal goals of the other teachers, and I thought if they can do it...so can I. So, thank you all for pushing me out of my comfort zone a bit. :) I'm linking up with Emily at Third in Hollywood , Teach Create Motivate, Peppy Zesty Teacherista ,and Sparkling in Second. :) 1. This one probably resonates with most of you too. :) We have various forms of debt, mostly student loans, and it would be so nice to only have to worry about our d

Hey hey! I'm here linking up with Katie King at Queen of the First Grade Jungle for Work It Wednesday! I'm just all about the linky's this summer. ;) I've been following Katie for a little over a year, and I actually found her through one of her fitness hashtags on Instagram, and THEN realized that she taught 2nd grade! :) I was so inspired by her fitness journey, but I never got around to get really serious about my own. Ever since I've had my kids I've felt so guilty taking time out to take care of myself. Like ridiculously guilty. I suffered from postpartum depression after both of my kids. I didn't even realize what it was until it was over. But I used to think "Why would I spend an hour working out when I could spend that hour cleaning, or holding my baby, or...." The excuses would go on and on, and so did the weight gain.  Last year I realized I wasn't as good as I could be, as I needed to be. I wasn't all that happy, and quite fr

Hey guys! I am participating in the TpT seller challenge over the next 4 weeks, and I finally had time to sit down and complete my first challenge!! We were suppose to pick one product in our store, and give it a face lift. I totally knew I was going to grab the first product I ever made, (and my all time best seller!) and change the cover page. Boy, was it ugly!! :) I just had no idea what colors/papers to use or how to position clip art for a cover page. So here is my before and after!! BEFORE: Things I didn't like:  Too much white space                                               Random placement of clipart                                                       Not the best background or border                                          So...pretty much all of it ;)                                                              (And sorry about the terrible  picture...) After: I am just in LOVE with this cute cover!! I am going to be changing al

Hey guys! I'm back again!! Can y'all believe it, because I barely can ;). I'm linking up with T ara from 4th grade frolics for Monday Made It! Today has NOT gone as planned, and it was a busy day anyway so I'm a little late to the party, but I'm here. My made it this week is not original at all, but since I'm switching grades and have fewer subject areas I needed these. I made myself some READ letters! I will be teaching literacy, and social studies next year so I thought I would integrate the two into my decor some.   I started with some basic letters from Wal-Mart. They were $1.97 each. I already had the acrylic paint, glue, and I was given a map of Georgia from my father-in-law. I didn't realize I was out of Modge Podge so I'm going to have to go to the store tomorrow and finish these up! :)  First I squirted some turquoise acrylic paint onto the back of the letter. This step isn't really necessary I guess, but it will make your e

Hey y'all!! I have officially been on summer break for 1 week, and it has been a fun one! I thought I'd join Natalie at What the Teacher Wants , and share my summer bucket list! School: So, I have quite a long list for school this summer. My first thing to do is redecorate my classroom next year. I am moving from kindergarten to 4th and 5th grade literacy and social studies. It is a HUGE change, but one I am excited for! However, I don't think my 4th and 5th graders will really appreciate my current decor, and I had to move rooms too so what better reason for a classroom overhaul!!  Pacing guides will be next on my list, and I have actually already started them. The teacher before didn't use pacing guides??? And my principal only had one based on TLI....which we don't do....SOOOO.... I will be working these up for myself next year along with, of course, my scope and sequence. I'm excited to start making TpT products for upper elementary, and

Teach inspired. That is my mantra for the new year. I hit kinda a valley if you will last year. I just felt, for lack of a better term, uninspired . I needed inspiration, I needed to fill my own teacher cup. It can sometimes be hard where I work to feel full all the time. I guess you could say that for every teacher everywhere at some point, but it was true for me last year. I work at a school that has one teacher per grade level. Collaboration, even though it can and should be, is not our building's forte. Teachers tend to keep to themselves and since we don't have a team to bounce off of weekly, or even daily it's hard to get that inspiration you need during those hard days, weeks, and let's face it...months. And then a group of teacher bloggers,( I follow most of them and they have truly kept me going with some of their blog posts,) went to the Ron Clark Academy. And, their posts about their trip truly inspired me. I had heard of Ron Clark before, but that was abou

I love this linky, and I seem to really love it in the summer! Ha! It's such a fun way to get to know other teachers. So without further adieu here's mine! * Every single blessed person, and animal is snoozing. Except my cat. And me. I can't sleep because kindergarten graduation is tomorrow so I thought I would get some work done! :) I am so proud of these kiddos, and I am going to miss them terribly.  * I am still in school. STILL!!! The snow really got us this year, and we are not used to this much snow and ice living in the south and all. So needless to say, I have been so jealous of all the teachers I see on summer break already, but it's only 3 more days!! :) * Even though I am so ready for a break I can't help but think about all the work that lies ahead of me. I am changing grade levels next year, and while I'm excited I'm also feeling the need to get busy so I'm not drowning the first few weeks of school.  * Yeah...but firs

Oh goodness....I thought I was doing good, and then I went to link up and BAM! I'm behind....I looked at the schedule wrong. So here is my very quick, and very late take on Chapter 4: Games!! "The need for survival, belonging and love, power, freedom, and fun are the five critical needs that must be satisfied if people are to be effectively motivated," (Glasser, 1999) Motivation...one of the most important things, in my opinion, that we can give our students. If we cannot motivate them to want to do their best, then we are never going to be able to reach their full potential. What better way to motivate kids than by playing games?!! Kids love to play, and I love to indulge them. My games are usually pretty simple in my room, sometimes I come up with them off the top of my head. One of my kid's favorite games is a very easy sight word game that I made up one day after a few of my kid's were completely stuck on about 4 words. I call it Pass A Word. I gave th

Book study time!! This chapter was all about FIELD TRIPS!!!! Field trips are one of those things that a lot of teachers don't have control of. Most schools around here, including mine, get 1 spring field trip to end the year. I have gone to the zoo, and to the Museum of Discovery with my classes over the last 3 years. My first year I worked at a private school and the parents were COMPLETELY in charge of the field trip. They took us to the skating rink. It was a lot of fun, and my kids couldn't believe I could skate! :) It was a good bonding experience for the end of the year. Now I teach in tiny town Arkansas, and not only do I get just 1 field trip per year, I am 1 hour away from anything....and I mean anything...even Wal-Mart. And I am 2 hours away from the nearest museum, zoo,( insert any other good field trip spot here). So, we don't get to stay at our location for more than a few hours before it's time to head back to school. So one thing that I have delved i

I'm linking up with Farley tonight for Currently! I love doing these! :) 1. Listening: To 101 Dalmatians. I bought it Monday night because I love this movie, and I heard another winter storm was coming in and I thought the kids might like something new to watch! We watched it on Tuesday, Wednesday, and twice today. I think it will get lost for a week or so after tonight ;). It is so fun to see my kids love the same Disney movies I grew up with!! 2.Loving: I am so excited about the changes that are coming to me next year! I currently teach kindergarten, but next year I am going to move up to teach 4th and 5th grade Literacy and Social Studies! I started my teaching career in 3rd grade, and while I love teaching the little ones I'm excited for the new challenges that await me! :) 3. Thinking: I'm never gonna go back to school.....I haven't had a full week of school in 3 weeks, and I am so tired of all my plans getting interrupted. This snow stinks, and I'm n

I was quite inspired by the girls that went to the Ron Clark Academy, and blogged about their experience. I'm so thankful that they did. Their experiences gave me the last little kick in the pants that I needed to finish this school year strong. Anyway, I decided to join in their book study. There is nothing more exciting, or inspiring for me than teachers discussing and learning from each other. I teach at a small school where there is only 1 teacher per grade level usually and I miss having a team that is all on the same grade level. That is what I love most about teacher blogs, the sense of community and having a "team". I got my book a little late, and we were out of school all last week because of snow, except Friday, so I haven't had time to implement anything from the book yet, but I'm going to next week. :) So let's get into it, shall we?? Chapter 1: Brainstorming and Discussion This chapter was all about talking. More specifically, the IMPORTA

Sooo, I'm on day 3 of snow days this week! We also had 1 last week, well 2, but we were out for President's Day anyway so it didn't count against us. This is the most snow we've had since we moved down here. I was hoping moving to southern Arkansas we would miss all of this mess, but nevertheless it seems to have found me. We have about 4-5 inches right now, and it is still pouring. We should have 7-9 inches before it's all over. :( I'm not a fan of the cold if you can't tell. So I've been on a mission to BRING SPRING by going ahead and decorating for St. Patrick's day! Since it is in the middle of the month I always hate decorating the first of March because after it's all over I just want to take it down, and I only get to enjoy it for a couple of weeks! So I decorate so I can enjoy it for a month! I LOVE St. Patrick's Day. Which is weird I know, it's not a holiday that a lot of people really celebrate or even like to celebrate because

Hi! Anyone out there? No? Maybe? I hope so! I started out so good this school year, and then September hit, and I got so crazy busy that I thought I would catch up my blog by the end of October, and then I got a cold, a typical first of the year cold, that OOPS, turned into a sinus infection, which turned into bronchitis, which turned into pneumonia!!! I was sick for 6 weeks! After a ton of medicines, and doctor appointments I finally started feeling better in time for Christmas. I lost 12 pounds during my pneumonia bout because I lost my sense of smell, therefore my taste was gone, and I was nauseous from the pneumonia. I didn't get to eat at Thanksgiving, but I made up for it during my Christmas break. :) (And didn't gain any of that weight back! Score!!) Then on December 29th I had a terrible burning pain in my abdomen. I had pains like this last year, but my doctor couldn't figure out what was wrong. And then it went away, and hasn't returned until now. That landed