Well, I am linking up to Doodle Bugs Teaching wonderful weekly linky for the first time to share some of what has been going on this week.
1) A lot of this:
We are slowly but surely learning how to be a family of four. Thank goodness my husband is also a teacher because I am going to need him more than ever to help with this transition. My almost 2 year old daughter is LOVING her brother and being very enthusiastic and helpful with him… BUT, at the same time she is more needy than ever. She is trying to figure out what her new role is and it is an interesting thing to watch as a parent. We have ups and downs with this transition, which I know is normal, however I am hoping and wishing and praying that some sort of natural rhythm starts soon.
2) Have you all heard of this website?
It is a website that is for new parents or people who are recovering from an illness/surgery/personal loss and friends sign up to bring you a meal. We have been feasting like kings on the yummy food that our nearest and dearest have made for us. Since I haven’t been out of the house much this past week and a half, it is so nice to see friends and share in wonderful food and conversation. I would definitely encourage you all to consider using this website to help organize meal planning for those who you know who may need an extra hand during a transitional time in their life.
3) I have been doing some grunt work for next school year. My 4th grade team and I are OVER our current spelling program and we are trying to reinvent how and what we do. We found a list of words we want to use, so I am organizing them and making weekly tests where they highlight the correctly spelled words BUT we are struggling what to do for homework…. I would LOVE to hear what you all do for spelling- homework, centers, activities, tests, weekly routines etc. We want to try something new and make spelling more meaningful.
4) God Bless Pinterest! I have been on Pinterest a lot, planning and scheming new things that I want to try out at school and at home. My sweet daughter Penny is turning 2 soon and I am scouring Pinterest for birthday ideas! I can’t wait to share pics of how hers turns out- it is an Ice Cream Sundae on Sunday theme! Here is my Pinspiration board.
5) Something that I have been living off of due to round the clock feedings is audible.com. I have already finished 2 books in 9 days. If you have a book lover in your life, or if you are one yourself, I would recommend getting a subscription to audible.com. I have been using audible for 2 years now and it has been a great companion on road trips, my morning commute as well as a great workout buddy! I am also in the market for some good summer reads, so leave a comment below with some of your favorite book recommendations!
Now I am off to see what you all had to share today! I hope to hear from some of you regarding #3 and #5!
Tata for now!
What a beautiful baby! And I love your daughter's red hair! (I have 3 red heads!) :O) Our district doesn't want us to do "spelling tests" anymore and I can see a huge deficit this year because of it!
Joanne
Head Over Heels For Teaching
What a beautiful family you have! Congrats on your new addition. My suggestions for Spelling homework is to give students a choice board of activities to choose from for homework such as: writing their words 3 times, writing a sentences with each word, creating a wordle with the words, creating a slideshow, etc.
My district doesn't want us doing spelling either anymore.
Erica
Shepherd's Shining Stars
What a BEAUTIFUL family! So precious. Enjoy this time – it won't last long.
For Spelling homework, I try to vary the activities so my students get valuable practice without it growing stale. I have a packet of activities I use – if you e-mail me your address, I'll send it to you for free 🙂
Spelling Activity Packet
I LOVE audible.com too! I commute an hour to and from work each day – and have listened to A LOT of audio books.
~Jessica
Joy in the Journey
I have my students do spelling bingo boards every week. They choose three activities from nine on a bingo board. I'm not sure how well it works though….still lots of misspellings. We have a list of core words (Rebecca Sitton) that MUST be spelled correctly in ANY writing, in any subject. These words are pretty basic. We practice a lot with these and then work on using our visual and phonics skills for the rest. Not a formal program, but it seems to work. Hope this helps!
The new family pics are so precious! Congrats again!
Jennifer
Mrs. Laffin's Laughings