Currently in April

Hi y'all!
Can you believe it's already April? I'm linking up with Farley for her super duper fun linky party~

Listening~ I actually get to listen and watch morning t.v. today!

Loving~ I have been running on fumes the last two weeks. This long weekend came just at the right time=)

Thinking~ The stress of testing is just too much for a lot of my thirdies. I'm so over it. Try as I may to inspire and calm, I'm ready for this to be done with.

Wanting~ I need a wife~ to clean, to cook, to make appointments, to shop for groceries, to take my car in for maintenance, to pay bills, etc...When I was a wife, my children were younger and I could do much of this list and work. Now, I'm old, single, and need help! I would ask for a personal assistant but you don't have to pay a wife! Ha!

Needing~ Coffee! 'Nuff said!

Third Grade Is Fun {TGIF} is our blog name. Tina and I truly believe that teaching can be fun and effective at the same time!

Hop on over and visit Farley for her Currently linky!

Five for Friday~ on a Sunday of course!

Hi y'all!

It has been a busy spring break! I miss my little friends, but I'm not ready to head back to school tomorrow.

I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for~

Dr. Seuss week was a ton of fun. Thanks to Jennifer from First Grade Blue Skies, we did a direct drawing of The Cat in the Hat. They came out so so cute!

Check out her website~ she has a Leprechaun directed drawing tutorial!

I tried out Jamberry Nail Wraps last week. The challenge is to use Jamberry on one nail, and nail polish on the remaining nails. Can I just say~ I Love Jamberry! The nail polish began chipping right away, but the Jamberry Nail Wraps looked awesome. Thank you Christi Fultz for the trial. {You can click on her name if you are interested in learning more!}

I got to visit Panera and Ikea during my break! It was awesome!

I uploaded a new unit for next week~Marshmallow Cereal Math {Graphs and Fractions}. We use Lucky Charms every year during St. Patrick's week. Because of changes to our standards, I needed a new unit!

I found this great freebie to use this week for guided reading.

It will work great for practice close reading! Thank you so much Kayla for creating and sharing this awesome packet!

So long for now and please visit Doodle Bugs Teaching for the linky party!

Living Wax Museum {Biographies}

Hi y'all!

For the last 2 years, my Gifted and Talented students have done a major project in the Spring semester. It has been so much fun because we began doing a Living Wax Museum.

What is a Living Wax Museum?

Students learn incredible amounts of information about an important person in history. Then they dress up like that person and perform. They strike a pose that that person who have done and wait for someone to push their paper button. The button is on a table next to them. Then the student comes to life and begins talking about themselves as if they were really that person!

I had seen this idea on the internet and it intrigued me. The first year there were 10 GT students in third grade. I opened it up to any student that was willing to do the work. They were required to do extensive research by reading books and online articles. They created a timeline on the person they were studying. They wrote a research paper. They made an iMovie or iTrailer about that person. And then they got to dress up as that person and perform in our Wax Museum. It was so much fun although it was a lot of work. I had 15 students perform and they were amazing. 

 Click on any of these pics to see one of our first blog posts from June 2013 about our first ever Living Wax Museum.

Last year, 1 kindergartener, 3 first graders, and 1 second grader joined us for the Living Wax Museum. It was awesome. Their teachers did such a great job getting them ready. In third grade, we only had 7 students perform last year, but it still was a blast!

This year, we have many more students preparing for the Living Wax Museum. Currently, there are 13 second graders and 11 third graders in GT {and I have 4 more students who are doing the project!} I started working with them in January to help them pick a person they really wanted to know more about. We practiced together with Martin Luther King Jr. Then, they narrowed their choices down to 3 people and began reading and reading and reading. I must say, it is quite remarkable to watch 27 students completely enraptured in reading. We are splitting this group up because it is just too many projects for 1 teacher. This coming week, a second grade teacher will take the second graders and I will continue on with my third graders. She has never done this project before so I am so so so grateful that she is helping out. Of course, I plan to help her as we go. 

Our presentation of the Living Wax Museum will be in late May {after state testing!} I am excited to learn more about  Stan Lee, Ella Fitzgerald, Amelia Earhart, Albert Einstein, Roald Dahl, George Washington, Annie Oakley, Betsy Ross, Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Edison and so many others.

If you have any advice to share, please do! I would love to hear how other teachers are doing this project or any other projects!

If you would like to know more about doing this wonderful project, you can email me or leave a comment! 

Seriously, it is a blast!

Thanks for reading!

~lisa

 

Five for the Week =) And a Sale!!!!

Hi!
I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for this past week in pictures!


I have spent the last 2 weeks with a cold and cough. And now, my eldest is sick. Happy times y'all. So, of course, I'm late to the party=)

Did you notice our blog make over? Tina and I are absolutely in love with it!
A big thanks to Gabby's Classrooms for the beautiful design. She is awesome to work with if you need a little make over! Just click on her button if you'd like to visit her blog!

My view of our mountains as I got into my car on Wednesday night. They are so beautiful, but 6:15 is just too late to be heading home!

 Last week, during our myth unit, one of the stories we read was The Golden Touch.  This week we began our new chapter book, The Chocolate Touch. I love this book! The students have been comparing King Midas and John Midas throughout the chapters. We will be filling in a Venn Diagram and this plot diagram.

Valentine's Day Glow Stick Dance Party~ At the end of our party, we turned out the lights and danced! My nerdy thirdies had a blast=)
s

Whoa!!
When did this happen?
In honor of reaching 200 followers on TpT, our store will be on sale through February 18th!

Currently February

Hi ya'll!
I'm linking up for with Farley for her February edition of Currently.

s

Listening~I love to get my groove on with Bruno Mars! 
Loving~ I know I am late to the party! I love all of the inspiration I have found.
Thinking~ I am sending out lots of prayers for those that I love.
Wanting~ Divorce and three college kids has been tough on my pocket book but I can now see the light at the end of this long tunnel =)
Needing~ Almost a year ago, our beloved pet passed away. Scruffy was 11 years old and my son's best friend. Now we have three big dogs and this house is always dusty and the floors are always messy.
We love our girls so much but I. NEED. HELP!

Pageant Title~ Miss Easy Rider~ I am usually very patient and try hard not to stress out over the little things. I try to look at every situation as a do~able task. I constantly say, "We can do this!"
 
Make sure to visit Farley and this fun link up!

Five for Sunday =)

Hi!
Today I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday {on a Sunday of course}!


First up for this post is the beautiful snow we had last week. It rarely snows here and the kids had a ton of fun. We took them out after P.E. We had a snowball fight and tried to catch snowflakes in our mouths. It was funtastic!

Later that day, this was my view on my way home. I live about 25 minutes from school and the mountain view is beautiful =)

In science, we learned about the layers of soil. We made these fun "soil in a cup" snacks to review.

In Science Lab, we made volcanoes and learned how they change the surface of the Earth.

Last, I wanted to share a new product that I can't wait to use. Our students love making lap books. Do yours? Well, Tina created a lap book for the beloved story, Stone Fox. She used this last year with her students and it was a huge hit. I'll be using it in the upcoming weeks and I'm just as excited as the kids.

Happy 2015

Happy New Year!
I'm beginning the new year with a linky with Farley!

*Listening~ I am so lucky that my son is a vocal major. He has tons of musicals on our itunes. He played the cello for this musical last year and I fell in love with the music. The movie did not disappoint me at all. I loved it!

*Loving~ I am finally on ig. And I have loved finding teachers to follow=)

*Thinking~ Enough said!

*Wanting~ I want to be healthy. I need to eat better and exercise every day! 

*Needing~ I leave school way too late. I'm usually one of the last teachers to leave. Actually, my whole grade level needs to leave at a reasonable time!

*Yes~ to exercise. I haven't exercised like I used to. No more excuses. It is a important!

*I Wish~ I wish I could take my mom to Scotland. She has a dear family friend that has invited us to visit. I want to make this happen this year!

Well, it's time to get to work! Hope you have a great 2015!
~lisa