Five for Friday...On a FRIDAY!!!

You know it's near the end when you're showing movies each afternoon because your kids can barely focus on those, much less actual school work! Unfortunately, we're there...with an entire week left. Fortunately, Megan Mitchell has this super cute unit for movie day, so that you really can get some skills taught before and after a movie. We started using her unit today:)

I found a great old window frame in my own backyard a few weeks ago, and I've been trying to decide what to do with it. Today's the day. I've been perusing Pinterest for hours trying to decide.

 
Field Day was this week! Super hot, but super fun, thanks to our fantastic PE teacher, parent volunteers, and lotsa watta! Nothin' says field day like that wet puppy dog smell of the kiddos on a hot spring day. Sweet babies!

We began Smarty Pants Camp today, and will work on this ca-yootie pa-tootie unit until the last day of school (I hope we can hang in there that long!). You can pick one up from TPT for your grade, too.

Um...cupcakes. The second batch in two days this week. But, I promise, the first was for Clare to take to school, and this one is because Callie has a friend sleeping over tonight, so we're baking! Well, my New Years goal of -60lbs is shot, I guess. I have not lost ONE pound since Christmas. No, we don't bake cupcakes every week, especially not twice. I think I'll have to finally break down and use the treadmill that I made Brady bring in the house last week if I want to lose even 60 ounces this year! I am SO stuck!!! Any alternate ideas would be appreciated - I hate to sweat!

That's it, guys. Not too much exciting going on this time of year, but I'm gearing up for packing it all up and starting my summer "job", which is when I can think straight enough to make some of the many project and unit ideas I've had all year long. Be lookin' for those soon!

XOXO,

Brooke

Froggies, and Snakes, and Caterpillars! Oh, My!

If you saw my room right now, you'd think I worked in a zoo. Ever since we began studying animals, my room has filled up with creatures. Every day, another somebody's something arrives. Today, it was mine. A snake. Dead, of course. Here's how it happened...

Yesterday was absolutely beautiful, and my sweet family treated Mommy to a picnic in the mountains for Mothers' Day. We found the perfect spot, with a beautiful view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. There wasn't a bug to be found. My salad was delish. Their subs were fab. Then we decided to go for a short hike up the trail to see what we could see. Before we even had everything packed back into the car, I found a teeny, tiny baby snake in perfect, albeit dead, condition.

I dropped him in a Ziplock and threw him in the cooler with the leftovers.  Ewwwww! Today, I brought him in to join the live frog, 6 dead bumblebees, 48 dead insects of all varieties, 4 live insects, including the biggest moth you've ever seen, and 13 quickly growing Painted Lady caterpillars.

My kids loved it! Even my baby girl who's so afraid of snakes she squeals at the mention of reptiles wanted to see it in the bag! 

All my students are loving our animal study so much we decided to do some writing about their favorite animals. I tried to make it easy to understand how to get research materials, paraphrase for notes, and then put it all together by making these Animal Research Wheels.

These are the perfect, easy way to begin research with, really, any class! You put the wheels together, take notes in the small space allowance, and then begin a draft. It's really that simple. My kids are super motivated and ready to write all about pythons and crocodiles, zebras, and cheetahs, scorpions, and koalas. I'm excited to see them so excited! Click on the picture above to check out the Animal Research Project Wheels at my TPT shop. I'm using them with Jen Martin's adorable safari guides for presentation! I've used these before, and my kids love making them. They look great in the hall, and entice other students to read all about what we've written, too. Hope you'll enjoy these two animal projects - have fun!

XOXO,

Brooke

OH MY! Another OOPS! and An AWARD!

I admit it right now. I have a problem. I don't read all the directions before I start my work. My NEW surprise is 

Hopefully, Jessica doesn't think I'm a stalker, but she is my blogging mentor, we have the same birthday, and everything she does on her blog is the best!

Surprise TWO, since I messed up

Alison is the one I can count on to read my blog every single time I post, and to leave me words of encouragement! If there were a Best Blogger Friend Award, she'd win. Wait. I can do that. I can make one up. And she can win. Alison, YOU WIN! You are super encouraging, wonderful about always following up, make me laugh, and exemplify what blogging should be all about.

Introducing the new Best Blogging Friend Award! Tag, you're it. Alison, you can pass along the award to your BBF, the one person who keeps you going, keeps you laughing, and makes your blogging fun!

XOXO,

Brooke

Currently THIS year

Scroll down to my past post to see what I mean about this year! What a ding-dong! Here's THIS year's May currently for you. Weird how today is nothing like May first's thoughts:

Maybe it's the baby birdies. Maybe it's the warmer weather. Maybe it's because it's a quiet, lazy Saturday, but nothing I wrote on the WRONG Currently is current any more, well, except maybe the bathing suit thing.

Here's the (new) lowdown:

Probably my favorite beach song, and oh so true! Summertime's SO callin' me. BTW, if you're not from The South, beach music has nothing to do with The Beach Boys. You can't find a station for it on Pandora or SeriusXM. You can't even "make" one on Pandora, because the genre's way too unique, maybe, to get it right. Put in The Embers, The Platters, The Tams, The Clovers and all the right song titles, and you'll still get some weirdo fifties music station that has all the wrong songs. Just buy the CDs. Anyway, it's 42 days until I hit the sand and waves! No, not counting. Not at all! Do you smell Hawaiian Tropic? (yeah, I still use that)

Monday I'm taking the day off. For my grandmother's funeral. Sunday I woke up early squirrelly and was just hanging in the den all alone (bliss!). A couple of hours later, my groggy husband came dragging in there and asked what I was doing up so early. I told him I just woke up and couldn't sleep any more, so I got up and started on school stuff. He teared up (great!). He said my mom had just called. I asked who died. I just knew. You know how that happens? When you just know something before you really know it? I wasn't sure which one, but I knew one of my grandma's was gone. Turns out it was my "Bee". She's had Alzheimer's disease for about five years. The last time I saw her was on Christmas Day three years ago, at my house. She didn't know where she was, who my children were, and cried just about all morning wanting to go home. Only she didn't live at home anymore. She lived in A home...a nursing home...but she wanted to go to her house. I never saw her again. I thought about her a lot. I thought about visiting. But I couldn't do it. She just wasn't really there anymore, and I couldn't stand to see her like that. So, I'm wanting Monday to be over. For all of us, but especially for my daddy, who's lost both his parents very suddenly, and who's been caring for my mom, who had surgery last Tuesday. "It's been a crappy week," is what he told me last night. I'm sure it has, so I'm ready for it to be over.

Drama? I teach 13 kiddos this year. I know, don't be a hater! Eight are girls. Girls equal drama. Drama equals save it for your mama! OMG! We fuss over looking at each other. We fuss over shhhhing each other. We fuss over being near someone in line. Really? I thought we just needed spring break. Maaaayyyybe not!

Freebie alert! I am still working on a frog unit, but I'd love some input, so what I have so far, and the rest, when it's all done, is free to my first three replies. That could be you, Alison! Just let me know if you'd like to read and critique what I have so far, along with supporting photos, and it's yours...now and later.

XOXO,

Brooke

Currently...two years ago

First, just let me say that I've never known Farley to be uncurrent. And I don't mean that in a mean way, but I have never, ever been ahead of her, so when I googled may currently and got this, well, I assumed it was current! Well, duh! It's now posted, and it's two years ago! I'm just goin' with it, 'cause now I've actually blogged for the first time in about a month, and, well, everyone knows what the first of the month means...it's the great Farley's currently linky party - the best party in town! Imagine my confusion when I went to link up and it was closed. Double duh! It took me about five whole minutes to figure out I was reading a two-year-old Currently!

Anyway, most of my entries (for the OLD currently) are pretty self-explanatory, but let me say, that I actually LIKE the song "Let it Go"! I know, cheese-a-rama! I love that movie, too. Maybe as much as Cinderella...the shame of it all!

Can you say, "Last day of school"? Yeah. June 6th, only we have to work on the 7th (check your calendar, that's a Saturday) as well, to make up for the snow and ice we had here. I know, northerners, midwesterners, and others...you have it worse. You win, but I live in SC for a reason, people! And it ain't for goin' to work on a Saturday 'cause a snow!

Also, you may know I've lost about 90 pounds over the past couple of years. S L O W L Y, but what you don't know is that I went swimsuit shopping at the Tara Grinna store in Myrtle Beach over spring break. If you don't know Tara, you need to, whether you're pleasantly plump (still), skinny-mini, boobie-licious, flat as a pancake, or anywhere in between. See, Tara actually owns a swimsuit factory, where she designs and makes the swimsuits she sells in her shop, in addition to some more famous brands - Miraclesuit, etc., but it gets better. If the suit you choose isn't perfect for you, she'll custom fit it for you and mail it to you! AMAZING! So, yes, you can get underwire, and yes, it can be bigger than a D, and yes that does come in a size 12 (thank you very much), and yes the bottom can be a high waist Spanx-type belly-bustin' solid to match the beautiful paisley top you chose. Oh, my!

I might as well explain where I've been for, oh I don't know, a MONTH or so! I have had the worst block...writer's block, creativity block, energy block. I don't even get it myself, but I had zero ideas for anything, so, no blogging, no new products, no cute classroom stuff to show you. Nothin'. Fortunately, I think it's over. I'll save it for tomorrow, when I'm hoping for a Five for Friday. I might have ten. :) Big smile!

XOXO,

Brooke