Just living the quarantine life...

Hi everyone,

We've been teaching from home since March 16 and just found out that New York schools will be closed the remainder of this year. While that's tough news to hear, being eight months pregnant with a two year old at home, I was a little relieved. I was nervous to go back to school and feel vulnerable or like I could be the person in my family to bring something home. So, I'm okay being sequestered away in my house for a few months, as long as we're all safe.

It is crazy though, being home all the time but still feeling like I have no time to do anything! I guess that's because I'm taking care of a two year old, going to doctor appointments, still doing my main job, which is instructional coaching, but also filling in as a maternity sub for a fourth grade teacher. There's a lot going on every day!

I hope everyone else is juggling all of their hats, too!

Why does my baby prefer dog toys?

Poor Lucy. My sweet bulldog puggle has this little human invading her territory. Although Violet has a sea of toys, she's started to prefer Lucy's toys, especially now that she can crawl all over. Violet will actually crawl over to where Lucy is chewing on a bone and take it! And Lucy just watches sadly! Lucy is SO patient and sweet with Violet! 

Maybe she's more tolerant now that Violet eats solids and tends to share with Lucy...

Does anyone else have sweet and funny baby-pet interactions to share?

State Testing - Try this short response resource!

Good morning!

We're in it. And by it I mean testing season. As an instructional coach, I'm helping kids AND teachers prepare for upcoming state assessments in New York. I made testing survival kits for my teachers - motivational coloring pages, secret parent notes for encouragement, testing treats, letters to the students for support, and these short response checklists!

I love using pens with my kids to color code their Restate, Answer, and two pieces of Text-based evidence. When they become automatic at it, they will write with one color and use different colored highlighters to check their response. It's difficult to get full credit on the written response without a strategy like this!

While kids can't use them on the test, they can use this leading up to the test and we can hope it sticks! I have several strategies - RATT, RATTS, RAPP, and RAPPS - depending on the strategy different teachers use in my school. What strategy do YOU use successfully for short response questions?

Click here for this resource!

Does Your Grocery Cart Look Like This?

Hi everyone!

My husband and I love to buy in bulk. We went to BJs after I digitally clipped 9 million coupons and filled not one but TWO carts! Violet was a real trooper as we filled the cart all around here. Now that we have this sweet little girl in our lives, it's easier to have a year's supply of everything than to ever run out!

Plus, buying 8 dozen eggs leaves plenty for make ahead egg cups, deviled egg snacks, and hard boiled eggs in our lunches. Can you tell we are full on keto dieters right now?

Make Ahead Egg Cups for a Healthy Keto Breakfast!

Good morning!

Since having a baby, I do every kind of meal prep that will save time! Plus, my husband and I are on the keto diet, so I need to meal prep minus carbs and sweets!

These delicious looking egg cups (I made cheddar, spinach and cheese, and buffalo chicken) took about 7 minutes to prep and 15 minutes to cook in muffin tins. I sprayed each tin with Pam like crazy and those little morsels of yumminess popped right out! Next, I froze them in ziplock baggies. Now I can just pop one in the microwave for a few minutes and have a healthy, delicious breakfast on the go!

If I can do it, anyone can! :)

Click here for the recipe!

Five for Friday

The day after our NYS ELA state assessment ended we set up a crime scene in the classroom! Kids really had a blast finding clues, recording evidence, and deciding what the evidence most likely meant. It was totally engaging and fun!

The crime scene materials came from The Engaging Station's TpT product. It had suggestions for how to set up your classroom and handouts for students to record their notes.

And here is some of the writing my students did the day after the NYS ELA assessment! On the third day of the test and the 9th written response question, I had some of my most talented writers telling me that they were tired of writing. Well, that all changed when they walked into our transformed classroom and determined that their lovely teacher was a suspect in a terrible crime! They really did jump right in and got excited about writing again!

Lucy has been a MUSH with all of the rainy weather we have had here in New York lately. She doesn't mind playing in mud puddles after the rain, but she really does NOT like walking in the rain. So...she sleeps. :)

With the NYS ELA assessments over, we have about a month until the NYS Math assessments, which my kids are sure will be a total blast because they love math. Definitely less anxiety there! We can do it!

Five for Friday

One of my sweet students had his dad make this for me! There is a light in the wooden stand and a remote control so I can change the color of the light! It is so cool.

I sent these secret missions home for parents this week!

Parents will write a note of support and encouragement for kids. I'll put one note on their desk on day one of the ELA state test and one note on their desk for the first day of the math state test. Inside the envelope parents have a letter explaining the assessments and what they need to do, two envelopes, and two notecards for writing their child letters.

Secret Mission Parent Encouragement Notes

We had a secret agents day!

Since it was a half day, with an assembly, and lunch, AND a special...I wound up with only one hour of teaching time!! Soon, I decided to have some fun with it. We have a state test in ELA next week, so their secret mission was a reading passage and an extended response. After they finished writing it, they had a four point rubric to grade themselves and make changes to their final writing piece. They also got to do this rubric with invisible ink! It was a blast!

The "lasers" were made with white string and a black light shining on them.

I had our READ sign lit up for secret agents day and it looked even cooler in the dark!

The letters were from Michaels.

When I was going through my closet and gathering things to send to Goodwill, Arthur climbed inside the bag and snuggled up with my clothes! The funny thing is that he is afraid of plastic grocery bags!