July Currently

Hello, friends!

I'm a day early for Farley's monthly Currently. She's going on vacation and went ahead and posted it early.  Lucky her! ;-)

I'm currently listening to the Disney Channel.  I tend to leave the Disney Channel on all day for Brayden.  He's learned that he can change the channel.  So, it's pointless for me to watch something that I want to watch.  First, he'll change the channel anyway.  2nd, I just don't have time to actually get to sit and watch one of my shows.  Remember...I have a one year old.  That's when the DVR comes in handy. :-)

I'm currently LOVING that tomorrow starts my birthday month.  I'll be entering my late 20's.  July has always been my favorite month. I'm also loving SUMMER!!  Yay for sleeping in (sorta) and pretty much just doing whatever I want.  Loving it!

I'm currently thinking about decorating my classroom.  I'm not ready to go back to work quite yet, but I am ready to go decorate my classroom.  

I'm currently wanting a new pair of sunglasses.  I lost my sunglasses somewhere at my work.  I never found them. :-( I've hinted to my husband that I'd like a new pair for my birthday.  We will see.

I'm needing to figure out where we are going to go see the fireworks this weekend.  I'm also needing to figure out how to work Brayden's sleep schedule around it.  Hmmm.....that will be interesting!

My tip for new bloggers is to start my reading other blogs.  I've learned so much about blogging just by reading different blogs.  Also, join in on linkys.  That's a great way to get your name out there and get your readers to know a little bit about you.  It takes a while, but find your own style.  Every blog you read is different.  It should be.  We are all unique.  So, just blog about you.  Blog about family, lessons, lessons that may have flopped, something that you were excited about...just blog about you.  :-)

I hope everyone has a relaxing Sunday!

Lots of love,

Five for Friday

Happy Friday, friends! 

Even though I'm off for summer, Friday is still my favorite day. There's something about knowing that it's the weekend that makes me happy, happy, happy!

So, since it's Friday, I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs for her Five for Friday linky.

Number 1: I was on Pinterest and came across this website.  It has a list of books to read before they become movies.  I found lots of great ones that I have put on my wish list.  (Now only if I can make time to read) The one in the picture caught my attention first because I love Reese Witherspoon. Second, the plot sounded really interesting to me. Click the picture to visit the website.  

Number 2: Brayden had his first ice cream cone this week.  He loved it.  At first, he looked at me like I was crazy.  He watched me eat my ice cream cone, and then decided that he wanted to give it a try.  :-)

Number 3: Brayden had some more fun playing in the summer scented rice.  We played outside this time.  You can click here to see my post about it. 

Number 4: I played with my Cameo some more.  I tried to have it cut out a chef hat to go under the words, but it wouldn't cut out the image I uploaded.  Still figuring it all out. 

Number 5: I am so excited.  An architect came out to my house yesterday to see about adding on making our house into our "dream house".  Right now, we only have 2 bedrooms and I hate my kitchen.  So, I'm head over heels excited that the ball is moving on starting to remodel our house.  

Don't forget that Google Reader is going away. Click below to follow me on Bloglovin'.  I'd hate to lose my friends!

I hope everyone has a GREAT Friday!

Lots of love,

Throwback Thursday

Hello, friends!

It's Throwback Thursday.  I'm throwing it back to 1986. LOL!

Wasn't I such a cutie? Anyway...I'm here to "throwback" to a previous post. :-)

 I'm linking up with the FABULOUS Cara from The First Grade Parade for her Throwback Thursday linky.  I haven't been blogging long (8 months), so I went back through to find a day where my students had a blast.  It was my favorite 100th day of school to date even though I was sick. I wanted to decorate my door for the 100th day.  Can you believe that on the 99th day of school I got sick and couldn't come to prepare?  Anyway, this post was dated February 1st, 2013.

So, here to it is.
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Hello, friends!

Today my 2nd graders were 100 days smarter. We had a BLAST today doing all sorts of things!

First, if you haven't had your 100th day of school yet, then you definitely need to check out Rebecca's, Darlin' in First, packet. On Monday my students were given the assignment to collect 100 items and put them into a mystery bottle. Then, they came up with clues to help the detectives figure out what their mystery item was. So much fun!! Check out these pictures.

Detectives hard at work!

Mrs. Hunter can I shake the bag to figure it out?

Second, we used my 100th day packet in math and writing. My students learned they there are so many more things you can do with a 100's chart. We counted by 5's and 10's, colored odd and even numbers, and even wrote 100 words. Then we ended the day by writing what they thought life would be like when they are 100.

This one was hilarious!  Her life will be over.  

I had to share this one because he will be old enough to have a beer!  I asked him to read it because I thought maybe, just maybe, he meant beard.  NOPE!  He said beer, you know the kind that old people get to drink.  I almost busted out laughing! Crazy things that my smarties think!

Click here to check out my packet if your 100th day of school is coming up.

Only 80 more days to go, for me! :-)

Lots of love,

Summer Scented Rice (Future Math or Reading Center???)

Hello, Friends!

I found an idea through Pinterest on creating some summer scented rice.  I just knew that my Brayden would have a blast.  Click here to see the original link. 

I got to thinking.  I bet my students would have fun writing their word wall words and doing their math facts in this rice.  I love that I can make the rice smell differently, too.  What fun all year long! Look for more posts in the future with my new set of kiddos. :-)

It wasn't hard to make at all!  All you need is some rice, water, Kool-Aid packet, and plastic baggie.  

First, put as much rice as you want in the bag.

Second, add the Kool-Aid packet.

Third, add the water and mix it all up. You can also add food coloring here to make the color more defined.You only need enough water to make the rice wet.  The more water you add, the longer it takes to dry. 

Last, place your wet rice in something to dry. I can't tell you how long it took to dry.  I waited an hour, and it was still a little wet. I left the house for a few hours, and it was dry when I came back. 

Now, it's time to play.  Lesson learned; this is messy with an 18 month old. We will play outside next time.  It was just too hot to play outside today. Amazingly, he didn't try to eat it.  :-) Brayden gave me some weird faces.  He thought it felt funny. He loved picking it up and dropping it...all over the floor.  Such fun!

The rice was all over the floor before I had time to write some word wall words.  I really think this could be a fun in a math or reading center.  Hmmmm....we will see.

I hope everyone has had a GREAT day! 

Lots of love,

Five For Friday on a Sunday

Happy Sunday, friends!


I was going to post about all the stuff I did this weekend.  It's all random.  Then, I remembered that I didn't link up with Doodle Bugs on Friday.  Why?  Because I was a slacker who didn't take enough random pictures of what I've been doing.  Summer life...relaxing with almost no worries.  I will be remembering to take pictures this week!

So, I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs for her Five for Friday linky.   

So, here are some of the things that I did YESTERDAY.  I had a busy day.

Number 1: I realized how much of a loser I am.  I always thought that the "Mommy Brain" was a myth. I've been waiting for all of my "smartness" to come back.  I blogged last week about forgetting my anniversary.  Update...I've forgotten something else.  LOL!  I decided to hop on the "Instagram train".  I went to register and it said that that my email already has an account.  Hmmmm...so I have them send me my password.  And guess what...I made an account within days of Brayden being born a year and a half ago.  There was not any pictures except for my profile picture (one of my favorites of me and Brayden the day after he was born).  I FORGOT all about it.  

So, I plan on using my Instagram account as a mixture of teaching and personal.  Click here to follow me on Instagram. Or just type in my username using the app on your smart phone (jhunter0724).  There's only three pictures up right now.

Number 2: my blogging friend Amanda from Teaching Maddneness shared a cool new app on her Instagram page.  It's called PIP Camera. It's so much fun to play with.  Go download it from the app store now. It's FREE! Oh the fun things I can do with this with my new batch of kiddos next year. 

#spaghettiface

Number 3: My husband I went on a date to celebrate our forgotten wedding anniversary.  We went to a restaurant called Southern Culture Kitchen and Bar.  It was delicious. I had the Fried Yard Bird (essentially a chicken fried steak with sawmill gravy) with mashed potatoes and cole slaw. Then, I ordered dessert.  She asked if I wanted some banana pudding and this country gal had to get her some banana pudding.  First, my husband I have been together for 10 years.  He has never been shared dessert with me.  EVER!  When this come up, we both gobbled it up.  It was warm banana pudding.  Eric said it reminded him of his great-grandmother's banana pudding.  It was that good!  :-)

Number 4: I finally opened up my Cameo.  It has been sitting on the desk in my house since Christmas.  Since we had a date night, I thought it would be a great time to figure out how to use this thing since my munchkin' was spending the night with his grandma.  I've been too scared to open it.  I'm not good at putting stuff together, and for some reason was terrified of breaking my new Cameo.  FYI...I've begged my husband to help me for months and he just hasn't yet.  It wasn't until I opened it up...he saw me struggling to figure it out (hehehe)....that we got it all hooked up.  I'm going to be honest, it took some trial and error to get it working right.  So, my first project was SIMPLE.  I used some vinyl to add Brayden's name to the door.  It's not as big as I wanted.  I'm going to keep working on it. I've got to figure out how to add my own images for it to cut out....

 I can't wait to use it to decorate my classroom! :-) That part I do no how to do.  

Number 5: I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend!  I'm going to go get my munchkin'.  He's only spent the night with his grandma a handful of times.  I miss him like crazy!  

Lots of love,

Two Back to School Packets...Yes, I'm already planning my first week of school!

Hello, Friends!

I'm here again...thinking about school.  What's wrong with me!?!? I know that I'm not the only one.  My wishlist is getting awfully full from all sorts of FANTASTIC things I've been seeing floating around on Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers. 

Anyway...I was thinking about what types of activities that I wanted to do the first week of school.  I know I want some fun things, but I also want to assess what they learned in 1st grade at the same time.  Glad I have the summer to figure all that out! :-) If you have any suggestions, let me know.  I'd love some new ideas!!!

I created two packets that I can't wait for my new kiddos to use in August.  My students loved reading and writing around the room.  Another thing that they loved was unscrambling some sentences.  So, here's what I came up with! You can click on the pictures to take a look at them in my TpT store.  

I will give away both of these packets to the person who can answer this question first.
I spend a great deal of time watching the Disney Channel.  I don't mind.  I've always loved Walt Disney.  

What's my favorite Disney movie?  

Good luck! I hope you have a FANTASTIC day! :-)

Bye, Bye Google Reader and Donation Drive

Hello, Friends!

It's a nasty and rainy day in here South Carolina.  There's just something about the rain that makes me want to lay in the bed and sleep.  That's quite impossible with a one year old.  But, I have a confession.  It's 2:00 EST and I'm still in my pajamas.  Yep!  My munchkin' and I are having a lazy day full of nothing but lounging around and watching the Disney Channel.  Oh summer, how I love you!

First, have you heard the news about Google Reader?  Google Reader will be no more as of July 1st.  So, if you follow blogs with Google Reader, you need to switch on over.  I chose to switch to Bloglovin'.  What I love about Bloglovin' is that it's really easy to use and it's just as easy to transfer your Google Reader blogs into Bloglovin'.  Plus....they have an app for the iPad/iPhone.  Yay!

Catherine from the Brown Bag Teacher has an excellent tutorial to help you switch over.  It is really easy.  Click here to head on over.  I promise, it's really SIMPLE and EASY.  If you don't transfer your blogs into a new reader, you'll lose all of the blogs that you are currently following.    

Second, a blog friend of mine is having a donation drive.  Her friend/co-worker/teammate was in a horrible car accident.  It was such a sad and tragic story.  Right now, her friend is in the ICU.  She has a long road ahead of her.  A lot of bloggers, including myself, teamed up to help Kathy.  

For a $20 donation, you can get $250 worth of teaching products.  All proceeds will go to Kathy as she fights to recover from this horrible tragedy! Click the picture below, to find out how you can help!

Lots of love,

Teacher Toolbox Linky

Hello, Friends!

Alison from Eberopolis: Teaching Reading and Writing with Technology has a linky up that I thought was a great way to see what other teachers are using in their classrooms.

Here are the linky rules: 

1. Share a product that you've made that you couldn't live without.

2. Share a product that you've purchased that you love.

3. Share something from your wish list that you're hoping to get for next year.

So, something that I made...

I created non-fiction posters to use in my classroom.  We refer to these all the time.  My students would constantly use them when he did non-fiction scavenger hunts.  This year, we had the students create non-fiction books about a topic that they knew all about. I can say that my students are "non-fiction experts".

Something that I bought that I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE are these imagination prompts from Sarah, First Grader at Last. My students loved when I added these to the writing center.  They would finish their work early just so they could pull these writing prompts out.  I can't wait for Sara to make the rest of them.  Like I said, I LOVED these.  They were amazing!

Last, I have Rachelle, What the Teacher Wants, Common Core Checklist in my wishlist right now.  We adopted the common core standards last year.  This year, I feel more confident in teaching them.  These checklists will be just what I need to document when I taught the standards and assess my kiddos.  Love these!  She has them for every grade level.  Check them out if you haven't yet!

Lots of love,

My Daddy...Happy Father's Day

Hello, Friends!

Happy Father's Day! I hope that you've spent time with your loved ones today. 

I wanted to share a little with you about the man that I call "Daddy". 

My Daddy's name is James. Most people call him Jimmy. I was always daddy's little girl. He was my first love, the man who tried to teach me how to drive, and the man that gave me away at my wedding.

First, I love my daddy. We have been through a lot together. We've had our ups and downs like everyone else. 

Times got really rough for us when I was a senior in high school. My daddy was told that he'd only have a year at the most to live. His brain was the size and age of a 60 year old. He was only in his early 40's. He is still living today! This took a toll on him. He began to take depression medication. That's when everything went down hill. I don't want to share the things that we went through. They are too painful. Long story short, he moved back in with his momma (my grandma). He stopped drinking, stopped taking his depression medication, and became a better person.

I am so thankful that he is still alive. I am thankful that God helped get him out of the funk he was in. 

He is a wonderful father. He is an even better grandfather. We are lucky to have him in our life.

Happy Father's Day, Daddy. I love you!

Five for Friday (ummmm....I mean Saturday)

Happy Saturday, Friends!

I posted about some Fabulous Feedback I received yesterday, so I wasn't able to post my Five for Friday on Friday.  So, Saturday it is.  I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs for this week's Five for Friday.

1: I married my high school sweetheart on June 13, 2009.  Thursday was our 4 year anniversary.  Guess what? I forgot!  Yes, friends.  This gal forgot her anniversary.  That's the first time I've ever forgotten a date.  My husband forgot, too.  He came home yesterday and said that he needed to ask me a question.  He asked me to be honest.  Then he said, did you remember that yesterday was our anniversary.  I cried.  I can't believe I forgot! 

2: If you follow my blog, then you know that I am a HUGE Clemson Tiger fan.  Tiger fans learned this week that someone had vandalized Howard's Rock.  For those non-football or non-Clemson fans...Howard's rock is a tradition at Clemson football games.  The rock was brought to Clemson from Death Valley, California in 1919.  In 1966, one of Clemson's most beloved coaches (Frank Howard) told the players to rub the rock for good luck.  They one the game that day.  Ever since then, our football players rub the rock for good luck.  Like I said, it's a tradition. I was HIGHLY upset when I heard that someone had been so disrespectful.  We don't know as of right now who did it or why.  

3: I helped Brayden make Eric his Father's Day gift this week.  My husband loves golf.  I found this on Pinterest, and knew that I had to make it.  Bray's little feet are so cute. 

4.  I find out today whether I will be having a new niece or nephew!!! I can't wait.  Right now, we have 2 boys and 1 girl (on my husband's side of the family).  I'm kinda hoping for a little girl.  

5.  I've been busy, busy, busy making new things for my classroom this week.  Every day during nap time, I've been working on a new packet.  I've gotta do something during nap time, right??? I've really been reflecting on my teaching lately. One thing I knew I need to work on was reading homework.  I needed something more than just, write down a summary.  I'm so excited to use these next year.  I've made one for 1st and 2nd grade as of right now.  

I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL weekend.  

Lots of love,