Five For Friday: Weekly Linky Party!

Parks and Recreation is over!! =[  

I will miss Leslie Knope and her crew entertaining me weekly. If you've never watched Parks and Rec before, then you are missing out on one of the best shows ever! 

In commemoration, I will be sure to have a bi-monthly Treat yo' self day. 

My kiddos and I have been working sooooo hard becoming better readers and thinkers. 

Their first response to confusion in the Resource Nook is "I don't know." That has to stop! We must put on our thinking caps and work through the confusion. 

For Black History Month, we did a month of close reading using this product by 24/7 Teacher. They were reluctant at first but really got into it! I think that they learned a ton from the month of close reading! 

Look at them go!!!

My little cousin came over a few weekends ago to spend the night. 

She loves playing a cupcake game on the tablet and really wanted to make cupcakes. 

I promised her we could make real cupcakes the next time she came over.

I totally forgot about this deal. Guess who didn't?!? 

We had a great time making cupcakes and frosting. 

FYI-Making cupcakes with a 5 year old is hard, hard work and they do not always match the picture..

I just love the store Fresh Thyme!

One thing that I have to go to Fresh Thyme for weekly is the delicious fresh squeezed orange juice. 

It is just oranges-- the best oranges you have ever tasted!

I would show you a picture, but I drank all of the best juice on the planet. 

On Tuesday, I got a new hair style. 

I'm not going to post pictures because I think it's kind of a hot mess. 

However, I'm going to deal with it for at least one week...maybe...hopefully... =/

Everyone I have encountered since getting my hair done has commented on how much they love it and that I should keep it up for a while. 

But, when you don't like it, you just don't like it. 

One of my kiddos wrote me a note and it was just too cute. I feel like I have no choice but to push through and embrace the look. 

She is just the sweetest! 

Welcome February!

Whew! It seems like January flew right by! February is here and it brought a TON of snow to the folks in Indiana. As I was planning the topics I would teach this month, so many ideas came to mind. 

Of course we have the day of hearts and love, Valentine's Day...

or we could celebrate the men who helped to shape the good ol' US of A, President's Day...

or we could talk about the creatures that seemed to be only recognized on February 2nd, Groundhog's Day.

However, I settled on a topic that is near and dear to my heart, Black History Month. 

When I was younger, my parents made it a point to make sure I knew as much as possible about my history. This included viewing of Miss Jane Pittman and even Roots. 

I want my kiddos in the Resource Nook to know as much as they possibly can about their history!

So, I have settled on Black History Close Reads. Not only are they learning about their past, but they are learning skills for their future! ISTEP is going to be a HUGE struggle for many of my kiddos and we really have to learn how to sit and decipher text. We may not be perfect, but we will be better than we were. Remember, Practice Makes Better!