Five For Friday

Friends,

First, it's Friday.  Second, I am officially on Christmas break! I will enjoy these next two weeks of relaxation. :-)

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs to share my week.  Boy, did I have a week.  Let's see.  I cried, I laughed, and I'm exhausted.  That pretty much sums up my week. 

Number 1:

We went on a field trip this week.  We had so much fun learning about matter and our bones. My favorite lesson is always the matter lesson.  They get to use dry ice and it just amazes them the changes that it undergoes.  Love it!  I also LOVE seeing my kiddos in their goggles.  Super cute! 

Number 2:

Two words...Pink Eye.  Ugh!  I took Brayden to the doctor on Wednesday and learned that he had pink eye.  He was his normal self and running all around.  However, when he sees me take out the eye drops he runs and screams bloody murder.  I'll be glad when his 7 days is up and he doesn't have to take the drops.

Number 3:

I got Brayden's Santa pictures this week.  All I can say is ADORABLE.  

Number 4:

Polar Express Day was on Thursday.  It's one of my favorite days of the year.  I made home made hot chocolate (thank you Pinterest).  We watched the movie that morning.  Then, we had rotations that afternoon. My students played Reindeer Games, made mitten ornaments, sang Christmas carols and danced using scarves, and made reindeer food.  They had a BLAST!

Number 5:

Remember that I said that my week was full of laughs and cries.  Here is where I just bawled. On my way home from picking up Brayden's prescription for his pink eye, I got a speeding ticket.  I could see the sign that said 55 mph and sped up like I usually do.  I could see the sign. As soon as I sped up, lo and behold there was a state trooper right near the sign.  Speed trap...ugh.  He got me doing 61 in a 45 and walked up to the door and asked me where the emergency was.  What made it worse was that I could not find my insurance card.  I have insurance and had all the cards from 2011 to July 2013.  I just didn't have the one I needed.  I really think that he believed I didn't have insurance.  He went on and on about how if I'm lying then my license will be taken away.  It was quite a day!  

I hope that everyone had a great week.

Lots of love,

Jeannie

Christmas Questionnaire Linky

I've LOVED reading all of these from Michelle from Fabulous in First..  So, I thought I would share my answers as well. :-)

Hot Chocolate or Eggnog?

I'm a chocolate gal all the way.  I don't like eggnog at all.  Bring the hot chocolate and I'll be just fine this time of year.  Frozen hot chocolate is even better...LOVE all things chocolate.

Does Santa Wrap Presents or Just Sit Them Underneath the Tree?

All of our presents are wrapped. ALWAYS! We've always wrapped all of our gifts even when I was little.  The gift either says from Santa or to whomever.  The only times things weren't wrapped was if the gift was HUGE.  I'm still trying to figure out how to wrap Brayden's new Mini-Coupe truck.  I want him to open it last because it's going to be is favorite.  I've gotta figure out how to wrap it all. ;-)

Colored Lights or White?

I love the look of white lights on a tree.  My lights this year have a bluish tint to them.  Growing up we always had colored lights.  Since I've been married, I've always done white.  I'm not opposed to either.  

When Do You Decorate?

After Thanksgiving.  I believe Thanksgiving deserves it's only holiday with fall decorations.  I could decorate for Christmas all year long if it was acceptable. Haha!  We always get our tree after our Thanksgiving dinner.  Then, I decorate the tree and the house the next day.  

Real or Fake Tree?

What's Christmas without a REAL tree?  I know A LOT of people go artificial, but I cannot and will not.  We've always had a real tree. I love the smell and the look of a real tree. I don't mind pine needles on the floor.  It's beautiful! My brother's wife convinced him to get an artificial tree this year.  He told my mom that his wife "took a little piece of his Christmas away."  Sad. We are real tree people. 

What Tops Your Tree?

Well, honestly, nothing this year.  We have a beautiful angel and I cannot get her to stay on top of the tree. I'm sure it's user error, but we cannot get her to stay.  Next year, I plan on getting a bow.  So, for this year I do not have a tree topper.  I have not had time to go and buy one either, so I just don't have anything up there.  :-(

Favorite Christmas Memories or Traditions

My mom always made her famous hot cocoa and we would decorate the Christmas tree as a family.  Those are the memories that I will cherish forever.  

Do You Remember Your Favorite Gift as a Child?

Honestly, no.  I had so many gifts that I wanted over the years that I cannot remember one that just sticks out above the rest.  The one that comes to my mind right now was my Alan Jackson CD from 1993 or 1994.  Can't quite remember the exact year. He was one of my momma's favorite singers so of course I loved him to.  I would go around singing 'Way down yonder on the Chattahoochee' all the time.  

Do You Prefer Giving Gifts or Receiving Them?

I do not like to be the center of attention.  I love receiving gifts as does everyone else, but giving is where my heart lies. I would buy gifts for everyone if I could afford it.  

What is Your Favorite Christmas Song?

I love all Christmas songs.  Baby It's Cold Outside is one of my favorites.  I love the older hits like Winter Wonderland, and The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole.  I don't think I can pick a favorite.  Like I said, I love Christmas music.  We've been playing Christmas music for the last two weeks in my room.  

Candy Canes...Yuck or Yum?

I don't have an answer for this.  I'll eat one if it's given to me, but I'm not going to go buy me some candy canes.  They're just okay.

Favorite Christmas Movie

Do, I have to pick just one?  Like I've said before, I love all things Christmas.  I watch Rudolph and Frosty every year along with It's a Wonderful Life.  My newest favorite is Elf.  Love, love, love this movie.  Such a funny movie with a great story.  "Santa...I know him!!!"  

Do You Shop Online or at Stores?

I do both.  I DO NOT go out in the madness of the day after Thanksgiving sales.  I don't think any sale is worth me getting into a fight or trampled. I buy most everything online.  However, I always have to run out the week of Christmas and buy the rest.  I still haven't bought the men (except my husband) anything for Christmas.  So, I will be one of the crazy people out shopping next week.

Photo Cards, Letters, or Store Bought Cards

I love photo cards the best, but receiving any card is just fine.  My grandma sent me a store bought card last week and it brought a smile to my face.  I haven't seen her since my wedding in 2008, and I love getting a card from her.  I look forward to it every year. 

Go link up, friends!

I hope you've had a great week.  If you are like me, TWO MORE DAYS.  We got this. :-)

Lots of love,

Jeannie

Remembering Sandy Hook

As educators, we remember and honor our fallen colleagues and their students from Sandy Hook School.  We honor them each day in our classrooms in which we continue their dream of teaching our children.  We honor their memory with our service.  Join with teachers everywhere in committing random acts of kindness to show our love for Sandy Hook.

All during this week, please promote the RAK on social media.  Use the hashtag:  #love4SH

Deck the Halls with A TpT Sale...Falalalalalala

Happy Sunday, Friends!

Christina from Bunting, Books, and Bainbridge is hosting a FUN linky that I am so glad she let me be a part of.   

I present to you....

If y'all are any thing like me, your shopping carts are full, full, full.  I love me some sales especially the Cyber Monday sales.  Toys R Us, Golfing Outlets, and TpT are my main online shopping places this year.  I may sneak in some clothes for me from The Mint Julep. ;-)  We will see.

So, I am gearing up to play 3 "songs" for you. I sure do love to sing...falalalalalalala. ;-) Here's the playlist. 

First up on my playlist is "I'm Dreaming of a Holiday Product" and this roll and graph activity will do! 

I LOVE the Polar Express.  I am on the Polar Express committee for my school and we are currently getting ready for our yearly Polar Express day.  I can't wait for my students to use this roll and graph activity that correlates with our theme. Graphing is always such a hard concept and my students really get into graphing with these roll and graph products.

Second up on the playlist if "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Reading" and practicing fact and opinion.

I love me some Duck Dynasty.  That's a fact, Jack! Your students will have a BLAST practicing fact and opinion with the Duck Dynasty crew.

Last, up is "Oh Management, Oh Management"  my students need a partner.

You ever have one of those days where you need to tell your students who their partners are to save time and or stress.  They will love finding a mustache partner.  Let 'em go one at a time and find a partner who fits the description! 

So, those are my all time favorites in my playlist this year.  Head on over to get your shop on! :-) I can't wait! 

Have a fantastic day!

Jeannie

Take Me Back Tuesday

Hello, Friends!

First, I need to say WAHOOO for finally being on Thanksgiving break.  I am in need of a break. I love my little friends, but I need a few days to just do nothing.  Absolutely, nothing. :-)

Also, Brayden is feeling much better today.  Thank you for all of your sweet comments. The winner of my Money Lap Book is Mrs. McNatt.  You didn't leave me your email address, so make sure to leave me a comment with your email so that I can send it your way. :-)

I am linking up with the fantastic Hope from 2nd Grade Shenanigans for her Take Me Back Tuesday.  

It is FREEZING here in good 'ol South Carolina. It is currently 45 and raining.  It was quite a yucky day.  So, I was looking back at my old posts and found one titled "Baby It's Cold Outside".  Perfect!  I'm getting ready to pull this packet back out.  

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Hello, friends!

It's cold here in South Carolina.  No, it's not snowing.  But, I am FREEZING!! Being from South Carolina, I get cold VERY easy.  It is currently 43 degrees and I am freezing.  The strong winds isn't helping the situation either. So, Brayden and I are wrapped up nice and warm and currently watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, his favorite.  Since I was cold, I began thinking about my next packet and I can't wait to use it when my kiddos return in January.  I finally finished it this morning. :-)

My students watched Frosty the Snowman before we left for Christmas break and I heard them talking about how "cool" it would be to make a snowman come to life.  Hence, my inspiration for my writing packet.

Here is a preview of everything that's included in the packet.

 

 

 

The packet includes two writing prompts-'How to Build a Snowman' and 'How to Make a Snowman Come to Life'.  Click on the picture below to download it from my TPT store. 

And...the first two people to tell me what they are looking forward to most on Christmas will get my packet for free.  I am most looking forward to watching Brayden on his first Christmas and figuring out what my husband bought me for Christmas. 

Lots of love,

Sick Baby Means Finished Money Lap Book

Hello, Friends!

I can't believe Thanksgiving is this week.  It has already been an eventful week and it has only begun! 

Well, we were suppose to have a two day week this week. Brayden ran a temperature of 104 on Saturday night.  We got his temperature down before bed and he woke up on Sunday with a temperature of 103.6.  Took him to the doctor (by then his temperature was 98) and the doctor said that he had a sore throat.  Sunday around 7 o'clock he was burning up again.  Took his temperature and it was 104.6.  SCARY!! So, we took him to the emergency room.  He had a chest x-ray, RSV test, and strep test.  All came back negative.  He just has a sore throat and a virus that is raising his temperature.  Friends, a temperature of almost 105 is super scary.  Glad nothing major was wrong, but hate that he feels awful.  

So, I had to stay at home today.  Brayden is better, but still whiny.  I won't know if I can go in to work tomorrow until we take his temperature in the morning.  Pray that my sweet boy is all better. One minute he's smiling and happy and the next minute he wants to be held and crying. Breaks my heart!

A sick baby means lots of free time while he sleeps.  So, I cleaned the house (sorta, I'm so tired) and finally finished my next lap book. It's been finished for about 2 weeks and I just haven't had the motivation to finish.  

If you want to win your self a copy, leave me a comment telling me your plans for Thanksgiving. I'll pick a winner sometime tomorrow night!  Good luck!

Lots of love,

My Truth Monday-Celebrity Crush

Hello, Friends!

I actually had a great day.  We got a lot accomplished even with ITBS testing this morning. I'm linking up with Denise from Sunny Days for her My Truth Linky.

This week, it's all about the celebrity crush.  Oh, boy! This could be bad. ;-)

First, my husband is my first love.  We've been together for 10 years and there is no one hotter than him.  He is the sweetest and best gift that I could have ever received from God.  God knew what he was doing when we met in high school.  Love that man beyond words.

But, I have to admit that I do have some (or a few) celebrity crushes.  It's okay to look.  He has some celebrity crushes too.  One of his is Carrie Underwood.  Can't blame him there.  She is gorgeous and have you seen her legs?!?! 

So, I could not choose just 1 celebrity crush.  I choose two.  Here they are:

First up is Gerard Butler.  I've been a fan for a while.  There is something about his Irish accent that just makes me melt.  Plus, he is H-O-T, hot, hot, hot.  I actually watched Olympus has Fallen with him in it last night.  He can play the bad boy or the sweet boy.  It doesn't matter as long as he has short hair.  I'm not a fan of the long hair.  He is a talented actor who just happens to crank my tractor.  

Second, is a newer celebrity crush.  I started watching The Vampire Diaries last year and fell in love with Ian Somerhalder.  He has that bad boy persona which is hot.  Plus he is downright attractive.  And...he's a Southern boy.  There's nothing better than that.  

So, there are my celebrity crushes.  I'd love to hear who yours is! 

I hope that everyone has a great Tuesday!

Lots of love,

Jeannie

The Game Plan for the Week

Happy Sunday, Friends!

It's been a busy day of loving on my precious niece, tending to a sick child (whiny, wanting to be held) and lesson planning. Hoping my munchkin' feels better in the morning.  I hate when he doesn't feel good. :-(

So, here's the game plan for the week:

Reading:

We are digging deep into informational text this week.  We will be learning all about space this week.  Such a fun topic!

Literacy Centers:
We will be doing lots of fun Thanksgiving activities and space synonyms. Click the links below to check them out.

Freebie From Me

Space Syonyms-My Packet

Thanksgiving How To-Lisa Richling

Math:

We are finishing up our money unit this week and heading into mental math. 

All of these are in my TpT store.  Gobbling Up Mental Math is a freebie. 

WORD:
We will be learning all about Bossy E and how he changes the way a word is read. 

Bossy E from Sarah Cooley

Science:
This week is all about insects!  We will be researching and learning all about the characteristics of insects.  My boys will just love science this week. :-)

Animal Unit from Teacher's Clubhouse

Busy week ahead with lots of fun!  I hope that everyone has a terrific Monday!

Lots of love,
Jeannie

Thanksgiving Freebie

Friends,

It's been quite a week in my little ol' room.  My little ones took the ITBS test for three days this week and it just drains us.  I like to stick to a schedule, and felt off all week.  Two more days and then we can get back to our regular routine.  

First, I want to share that my niece arrived yesterday.  She is just perfect.  She was a week early and weighed a whopping 5 pounds 12 ounces.  TINY, TINY, TINY!  It's hard to believe that my little one was once little.  She seems huge compared to Brayden's weight of 6 pounds 11 ounces.  LOVE her to pieces already and can't wait to love her on some more.  

Here she is, friends.  Lindsay Hunter-Grace Mejia

I have some serious baby fever right now.  Hopefully, holding her will fix it.  We aren't quite ready for another one yet.  

I am so thankful to all of you.  November is the month where everyone shows how appreciate they are.  I don't just appreciate all of y'all in November.  I appreciate y'all all the time.  I've enjoyed meeting and making new friends.  I just love y'all to pieces.

I made a Thanksgiving Making Words Freebie for you.  Click below if you can use it in your room.  My little ones absolutely love making words out of bigger words.  So much fun! 

Getting ready to head back out and love on my new niece.  There's so football today, so she has all of my attention. :-)

Lots of love,

Jeannie

A Recap of My Week

Friends,

I need to play Catch-Up time! 

We've had tons of fun in my classroom, but I haven't been able to look at a computer.  It's been a horrible week in my head.  On Sunday, I had a headache.  Nothing out of the ordinary, but just an annoying headache.  I took some Tylenol and it didn't help.  Monday morning came and my headache was still there.  Let's fast forward to Friday.  I still had a headache.  Nothing was making me feel better.  So I went to the ER to find out what was wrong.  I then learned finally after a few hours of waiting that I had a sinus infection in by brain.  How in the word does that happen!?!?  The fluid in the sinus cavity in my brain had become infected and couldn't pass into my nasal cavity.  Yuck!  So, I'm on lots of pain killers an antibiotics to knock this junk out!


If you were working with me last week, you would have never known that I was hurting.  Only my closest friends knew there was something wrong.  I muddled through it and made sure that my 20 friends had fun and learned all week long! 

So let's recap all of the fun learning that went on in 2nd grade.

We've been learning about life cycles.  Last week was specifically mammals and their characteristics (new packet coming soon).  We made mammal life cycle hats.  Check out our apparel (not all of my students were here this day or they were being pulled).  I always start with mammals because it's the easiest for them to understand and relate too since we are mammals. 

I really have a terrific class this year!  LOVE them!

Next up, we learned all about synonyms.  We sang a synonym song to learn all about synonyms and what that hard word means.  Click here to get a copy of the song from www.canteach.com. 

To keep learning about synonyms we played the two games from my latest packet, Out of this Word Space Synonyms. 

Space Synonym Concentration

Synonym Recording Sheet and Matching Game

We even made synonym asteroids.  Their finished work came out so cute!

I promise that we did more stuff this week, but I didn't take pictures of anything else teaching related.  Sinus headache...remember...

Halloween was this week and my team decided to dress up as Disney Princesses.  It was so much fun.  I had my cousin hem my dress and it was still too long.  One of the disadvantages of being 5 foot 0 inches. One of my co-workers told me that I even was walking like a princess because I was having go pick up my dress as a I walked all day long.  The kids LOVED it though.  My students who didn't dress up became my little dwarfs. Why, oh why, didn't I get pictures of them!  Oh well! :-(

My co-workers took the following pictures below of us.  Aren't we ADORABLE!  

I was Snow White. 

My fabulous team

Snow White (Me), Princess Belle, Merida from Brave, Princess Tiana, and Pocohantas

With a pounding headache, I still managed to take my son trick-or-treating.  He dressed up as a convict.  Last minute costume choice, but he was still adorable. 

He didn't understand trick-or-treating.  He got the hang of out and wanted to stop at EVERY one's house.  He didn't understand that if their light wasn't on then he couldn't go.  He may have pitched a few small tantrums but luckily stopped quickly. He LOVED it.  I am so glad that I made myself get up and take him.  It was worth it!

So, if you would like to win a copy of my latest packet, head on over to my Facebook page.  I'm having a little giveaway over there.  Click here to go visit my Facebook page. 

Click the picture below to take a look at my synonym packet. Don't forget to head on over to my Facebook page to win a copy! :-)

I hope that everyone has a WONDERFUL Sunday!

Lots of love,

Jeannie