Currently for the New Year!

Welcome back! Evidently I have not blogged since the last day of November. Yikes! The holidays is a very busy time for school and home, but like I have to tell you!

I am starting the year with the newest edition of currently with Oh' Boy Fourth Grade.

Listening: I love hearing my family happy. The hubby playing video games, the kids playing nicely, together, and me sitting here typing getting to hear it all. These are peaceful moments that feel like heaven.

Loving: I LOVE coconut! I bought some coconut oil this week and got to thinking what I could do with it. Well, it helps make an amazingly tasty, aromatic Coconut Almond Granola. I posted a recipe I made up for it. 

Thinking: My list is gratefully pretty small. That just equals more time to play!

Wanting: As long as I reestablish my expectations, I think we can continue having fun and learning as normal when we return.

Needing: Granted, our house was not as bad as some friends Christmas morning, but after all the presents for the kids that had packaging, ties, wraps and things we put together ourselves, I could use a maid to come clean up, do some laundry, and maybe empty a trash can or two.

Tradition: This is our second year with an Elf on the Shelf. My daughter did not understand it as well last year as she did this year at 3. She would talk to him, remind her baby brother not to touch him so he wouldn't lose his magic, and let everyone know how sad she was he had to leave Christmas Eve but that he would be back next year at Thanksgiving. We loved this, and hopefully he comes back and sees us next year!

I cannot wait to read others' Currently and see what everyone else is up to! Have a great time back to school!

Bell Schedule and November Currently Linkys

I am joining Thank God It's First Grade for a Schedule Linky. I love seeing how everyone in different grade levels and the same grace levels have completely different schedules.

Here is what a 5th grade science teacher schedule looks like in an intermediate school in Texas.

I have 120 students between 4 classes. One is a regular education class, then I have one pre AP class and 2 co-teach science classes. We had so many SPED kids in the Gen ED setting we had to double up the Science and Social Studies co-teach classes on my team.

Panther time is a 55 minute built in intervention time. I have the kids in my classroom who do not need intervention during the 9 week session so they are doing think tanks in my room. Read more about think tanks here.

I can't wait to see what other teacher's schedules look like!

I am also linking up with Oh Boy Fourth Grade for our November Currently. I think I missed Octobers...it was so long ago :)

Click the picture for a delicious Sweet Potato Pie recipe!

Happy November!

A Peek at My Week and September Currently

Yea! Today is a holiday, so we get a nice long weekend after a full first week of school. I am doubling up the linkys today with A Peek at My Week with Mrs. Laffin's Laughings and September Currently with Oh'Boy 4th Grade.

For 5th grade Science, click on the title for a link to the activity...

Monday:
No School!

Tuesday:
Warm-Up: Lab Safety from Seeing Science Structures
Lab Tools Notes

Wednesday:
Warm-Up: Lab Safety from Seeing Science Structures
Finish Lab Tools Notes
Diagram Notes from Science Penguin (use Ari's notes on one side of our journal, then practice on the other. Love this!)

Thursday:
Warm-Up: Lab Safety from Seeing Science Structures
Graphing Notes and Foldable
Graphing Lab Practice

Friday:
Warm-Up: Lab Safety from Seeing Science Structures
Bill Nye Do It Yourself Science
Bill Nye Video Response
Wrap Up Warm Up

September Currently...

Listening: I love to cook for people. My team can no longer all eat all the goodness I bring them, so I am looking for great recipes to meet their new needs so I can still share what I love :)

Loving: I cannot wait o get these anchor charts started! I have found so many on Pintrest, which I finally joined after a few years of pushing from my friends. Glad I did! Feel free to follow me at Lilosmommy8014.

Thinking: I want to make sure all my new teachers are taken care of. I have one new teacher to our district, one new to our subject and one new to our district and subject. I don't want them to freak out about lessons :)

Wanting: All the foldables we put in our journals make them fat with construction paper. I am wanting colored copy paper that is cheap since it is nice and thin.

Needing: My 15 month old has been climbing out of his crib like a monkey. Right now, he is in his old pack 'n' play until we find a more permanent solution. We are open to suggestions. He is not ready for a toddler bed, unless we get the time to train him to stay in it. The crib is as low as it goes, and my aunt suggested we drill new holes to make it go even lower. We will see how this goes...

Loving: I love teaching science and I am happy to be at work again :)

Join in on the linky fun, and have a great week!

2 Birds, One Blog: August Currently and Back To School Goals

I am loving the linkys (click the pictures to join), so I am doing two today in one post, so I will keep my explanations short :)

First, I have August Currently with Oh Boy, 4th Grade.

Here is my August Currently:

Listening: the news is always o at our house in the background. My husband is a police officer, and I think it is just second nature for him to know what is going on...repetitively...7 times a day. Oh, well. I don't mind. Fox 4 can be pretty entertaining sometimes :) I wish I was listening to some songs to sing to since the kids aren't here to wake up as I bust a note (they are loving on Grandma right now)!

Loving: reading all of the posts from fellow bloggers. There are great ideas, motivations and stories to get back on track for the school year!

Thinking: about how great this school year will be. I am so excited about my team, our schedule, Think Tanks, our new batch of kiddos, and my room!

Wanting: some playtime with my kids. We are limited what we do out of the house with a new walker and 105F outside everyday, but we have plenty to do inside, and I can also back out the car and put a pool in it's place in the shade!

Needing: millions of dollars to buy all the things I need to make all the things I have found on blogs, pintrest and TpT (any donations?).

Back 2 School Must Haves: I noticed I forgot to add that, so here.
1. Some Magic School Bus chapter books. I just found out about these, and I need them!
2. Some cute duct tape to wrap my glue bottles (thanks I'm Lovin Lit!)
3. Glitter binder. Need it!

Alright, Back to School Goals Linky with I {heart} Recess.

Personal: I want everything to be perfect the first time kids walk in the week before school to get their schedules. It might not happen, and I need to be okay with that (as long as it is perfect by the first day of school).

Organization: My classroom is wall space challenged. It has buttons and switches and boxes and other impediments throughout randomly being a science lab. I will make it work!

Planning: I like having a few weeks planned at a time so I can focus on all my other responsibilities and wants at work. Week one is almost done, so let's kick it up and get week two!

Professional: I am science lead at my school and I will mentor 2 teachers and have 3 new science teachers this year. I want to make sure they have everything they need to feel confident about the start of the year. I can always wing it if I have to, but I don't want them to have to.

Students: What could we possibly need this year that students will run out of or not have? Sales are for a limited time, and supply does not always refresh in time. I need to anticipate what will be needed.

Motto: I am a positive person 99% of the time. My teammates have seen the smidge of negative, but it is so rare. Am I lying to myself, holding it in, or do I just love teaching so much the negative doesn't really matter? I am going with the last one :)

That's it! Goodnight! I have GT training all day tomorrow, and those advanced labs aren't going to perform themselves!