Slim Down Saturday and Some Math Facts!

Can I admit something?  I'm insanely organized, but sometimes I don't know how to prioritize.  Does that even make sense?  I have lists upon lists, check sheets upon checksheets, and mental lists upon mental lists (those are the worst!).  But I tend to get so overwhelmed sometimes that I end up FORGETTING what I have to do, underestimating the time it takes me to do something, or focusing so hard on something that things get pushed to the backburner.  Sound familiar?

Y'all, my fitness and healthy habits get shoved to the backburner a lot.  Between waking up early to get myself ready, get the kids ready, get to work, get ready for the day, teach 1st graders all day long, work after school, pick up the kids, make dinner, work on TPT, plan lessons, play with the kids, and do household chores...when exactly am I supposed to have time to work out?  And when am I supposed to make healthy lunches to take with me?  I'm so exhausted by time I get home the LAST thing on earth I want to do is cook.

But alas, I've got to just re-prioritize.  I used to work out all. the. time.  That was pre marriage and pre kids.  Does anybody know what I'm talkin' about?  Maybe you do.  If you don't, I'm jealous of all your free time.

So I'm teaming up with Gina over at Third Grade Tidbits for Slim Down Saturdays!  I'm hoping it'll help keep me a little more accountable with taking care of myself (as I sit here with a Mt. Dew trying to get rid of a massive headache.  Flaw #1.).

I'm shocked I lost 4 pounds.  Seriously.  But at the same time, I know what helped.  I made healthy food to take to work, I wasn't snacking all day like I did when I was on break, and I drank water during school (but then bombed when I got home with the whole carbonated beverage thing).  I'm going to try easing out of drinking pop, though.  Whenever I just try to quit, it NEVER goes well.  Baby steps!

So here are some pics of things from around the house that I'm trying to use to help this whole process.

Ok, don't think I'm a whimp.  I normally use 5 lb. weights, but I have a shoulder injury that I'm trying to work through.  I made the mistake of using my 5 lb. weights a week ago and I hurt myself again.  So I bought a lighter set to try and help my muscles ease back into lifting weights.  I got these 3 lb. weights at Target.  And I LOVE pink, so I was happy.  :)

I bought Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred right before I got pregnant and then put it on the backburner until after I had the baby.  Well, I did it last week and it kicked my butt, but I did it!  And it was tough, but it felt SOOOO good!

Here's my stash of water!  I have it very accessible so that I can easily grab one while in the house or as I'm headed out the door.

More fruits and veggies!  We have clementines, grapes, apples, and bananas in our fruit bowl on the counter.

The last thing I've been doing is this 30-day Squat Challenge that I found on Pinterest.  I'm loving it!!!  And no, none of those people are me...

Here's hoping that I can do a little better next week.  It's possible, I just have to make it a priority!

Before I head to bed, I wanted to share that I ***FINALLY*** finished my math fact fluency pack!  I'm sooooo excited about it!  Remember how it was called, "Banana Split Math Fact Mastery?'  Well yeah, I changed it.  I wanted to come up with a reward system that wasn't food or sweets related.  So I give you...

It's 147 pages of fun!!!!  You must check it out!  CLICK HERE to see it in my TPT shop!  I really think you and your students will love it!

I'll be back in a couple days to share things from last week!  :)  Enjoy your Sunday!

Happy 2014!

Can you believe it's 2014?!?!  Holy cow!  What a year 2013 was and I can hardly wait to see all that 2014 brings.  I'm linking up with Oh Boy 4th Grade to bring you my January Currently!

When do you all head back to school?  The teachers and students head back on Monday.  That is, if we have school.  This is a picture of our forecast for next week:

A windchill of NEGATIVE 46!?!?!  I have NEVER experienced cold like that in my life.  With those windchills and the chance of snow, we may only end up going to school one or two days next week.  I can't say I wouldn't be just a little excited.  ;)

Last Saturday I had the chance to meet up with some sweet Ohio bloggers in Columbus for lunch and a little shopping!  Seriously, such an amazing group of women.  I feel so honored to know them!

Starting with the front row (LtoR): Jenny from Luckeyfrog's Lilypad, me, Christina from Sugar and Spice

Back row (LtoR): Julie from First Grade Critter Cafe, Emily from Curious Firsties, Jennie from JD's Rockin Readers, Lisa from Fourth and Ten, and Sarah from Primarily Au-Some

I just love getting together with other bloggers because the discussion is so rich!  It's amazing the friendships that develop through blogging and TPT!

If you don't follow me on Instagram, my IG name is sarahlynnkirby.  Today I posted a picture of some CUTE finds at Five Below!  For those who haven't been or don't know what it is, it's like a Dollar Store, except it's a little more expensive because everything is $5 and under! ;)

One last thing before I get back to work on my latest product.  Check it out!  I'm designing a math fact fluency program for first graders!  I have plans to make one for K and 2 as well in the future.  It features math fact sheets for timed tests with both 20 problems and 50 problems so you can choose which one to use.  It's Common Core aligned, so it deals with sums up to 10 and subtraction from up to 10.  It's designed as an incentive program so the kids are motivated to reach their goals.  With each level they pass, they earn the parts to a banana split!!!! :)  Keep your eyes peeled...I'm planning to have this up ASAP, no later than Sunday.  :)

Happy New Year!!!!

Remember Sandy Hook

A year ago this Saturday.  One of the most painful days for teachers across the country.  Even more painful for the families, teachers, students, and town of Newtown, Connecticut.  Why would anyone take the life of an innocent child?  It makes no sense.  It's horribly gut-wrenching.  

I remember briefly hearing something about it at school that day.  I only knew because I checked the news websites during my planning period.  Then when I got home and watched TV, I saw the horrible images of what happened while I was at school teaching my students.

I don't know about all of you, but my mind shifted towards the safety of my own school.  I realized we were just as vulnerable as high schools (where up until this point, most school shootings took place).  My room is the first one outside of the office.  The one with windows that face the front doors of the school.  I would lay awake at night thinking of how I would handle things, should someone open fire in my building.  As a newer mommy, my heart ached even more as I thought about my own child at the time.  Now I have 2 children and the thought hurts even more.  If someone ever hurt my babies, I don't know what I would do.

Have you seen this video?  Get tissues ready.

There's something sweeping across teacher blogs at the moment.  The mayor of Newtown, Connecticut encouraged people to commit Random Acts of Kindness on the anniversary of the school shooting - this coming Saturday.  As educators who's heart strings have been pulled, we are stepping up to promote the mayor's amazing idea.  In the words of the mom in the video above, evil did not win.

Will you join people across the nation to take part in Random Acts of Kindness?  Maybe it's paying for the car behind you in the drive thru.  Maybe it's taking a plate of cookies to your neighbor.  Maybe it's shoveling snow for an elderly couple.  Maybe it's leaving a $5 in a stocking at a store for someone's surprise when they buy it and take it home.  My family and I are going to leave a special treat in the mailbox for our mail carrier. :)  It doesn't have to be anything huge.  Just overcome evil with good.  :)

As educators, we remember and honor our fallen colleagues and their students from Sandy Hook School.  We honor them each day in our classrooms in which we continue their dream of teaching our children.  We honor their memory with our service.  Join with teachers everywhere in committing random acts of kindness to show our love for Sandy Hook.

Let's join together as a community of teachers, bloggers and FRIENDS to spread the word about this movement to honor Sandy Hook.  Let's not only commit to committing acts of kindness on December 14th, but let's commit to committing acts of kindness on December 15th and in the spring and the summer.  Let's commit do kindness for Sandy Hook.

Here are some ways to spread the word:

Feel free to use the image above and share it on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and wherever you can.  Email it to all of your co-workers, friends and family.  Spread the word.  December 14th is a day to remember and honor Sandy Hook with simple acts of kindness.  

As you share on social media, please use the hashtag #love4SH to spread the word and fuel a movement.

I'm Back!!!!

Hey everyone!  I'm officially back!  It has been FOREVER since I have blogged!  My goodness!  There is SO much I want to share with you all, so let's get started with a little "Currently" from Oh Boy 4th Grade!  :)

For tonight there are three exciting things I want to share with you:

1.  Part of the reason I've been absent for a couple months is this guy!

 

He was born on Monday, November 4th.  Everything went so smoothly and I'm already back to myself!  I had a repeat c-section and this one was SO much easier and quicker to recover from!  Now our little family is complete.  :)

2.  A couple weeks before I had Sawyer, I found out I was selected to present at the I Teach 1st Conference in Las Vegas this summer!!!!!  I was totally thrilled and blown away!  I will be presenting on Wednesday, July 9th from 1:15-2:30.  My session is titled, "Tracking and Utilizing Data in the Elementary Classroom" and I hope you'll join me if you happen to go this summer!  I'm so pumped to meet lots of new people and attend different session of my friends!  Here's the link for the conference if you're interested: http://www.sde.com/iteach1st2014/

3.  The last little bit I want to share with you is that I have recently started updating my 2nd grade Reading Street files to cover the 2013 edition!  A sweet buyer gave me some guidance and I've slowly started updating them.  Unit 3 is entirely done!  If you've already purchased the file you'll just need to download it again from your purchases.  I'm going to start working on Unit 4 after I finish this blog post in hopes of getting that unit almost done (if not entirely done) before the sale tomorrow!  I'll upload the stories individually as I go along and then update the Complete Pack.  If I DON'T get them all done tonight, you can always purchase the Complete Packs during the sale and just download the revised file once I get it done.  :)  I hope that makes sense!

Don't forget about the big sale tomorrow and Tuesday at TPT!  My cart is STOCKED!  :)  I'll be back more often now!  I'm so excited to get back to blogging!  I hope you'll join me on this journey.  :)

My TPT shop

Positive Points Monday

Hey friends!

I'm trucking through my last college course for my reading endorsement and I'm so close to being finished.  Don't you love how good it feels to check something off your list?  What an amazing feeling...I can't wait!  :)

Last week was actually somewhat decent...besides a slight mental breakdown on Friday with being overwhelmed.  ;)  So here are my positive points from school last week:

1.  My kids did really well on their weekly assessments!  If you teach 1st grade, you might experience the same thing.  The first week or two is really rough because the kids aren't used to having to study and take tests.  Boy does it show!  The parents freak out because they think their kid is behind.  The students freak out because they just didn't know what to expect.  The teachers freak out because they think their class is really low.  But after everyone settles in after a couple of weeks you start to see a more accurate picture.  Parents calm down.  Kids get the hang of it.

2.  I got all of my lesson plan templates pretty much set up and ready to roll.  Now that I have a good idea of my schedule and all my pull-outs, I was finally able to settle on what each week would look like and how much time I have (or rather DON'T have, but that's another story) to teach everything.

3.  I have to tutor a student in my class for 40 hours as part of my last course for my reading endorsement.  We got 5 more hours knocked out last week at school!  AND, the best part is that he is doing SO well.  It's AMAZING to see how far he has come!  I couldn't be any prouder of his accomplishments.  I have proved to myself that narrowing down the individual struggles of a student and attacking them is far more influential than tossing the kids a couple new strategies here and there without really focusing on the lacking skill.  At the same time, it has made me slightly more frustrated because I wish I could do that with ALL of my students.  Alas, time is not on our side.  ;)

It really helps me to focus on the good things that happen throughout the week at my job.  This year is SO different and SO stressful and I have to keep looking for these things daily, otherwise I think I'd completely lose it.  I've come close a few times, but remembering the good helps offset the bad a little bit.

Let me ask you a question, compared to other years, how does this year compare?  Is it one of your best years?  Just like normal?  Definitely not the best year, but could be worse?  Or the worst of your career?  I'm trying to keep this post positive, but I really want to know if it's just me that's going through one of those slumps in her career or if this is something that's facing all of us.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.  :)

Praying you all have a great week!  :)

Blessings...

Positive Points!

I feel like a total slacker.  I know I don't have to explain, but I will.  Last Sunday I had every intention on getting this linky up for Monday.  We decided to do a freezer meal swap at our school.  It was a great idea!  Well, in the midst of making my enchiladas, I passed out.  Literally.  I fell over and hit the floor.  My husband wanted to take me to the ER, but I insisted that I was fine.  He ended up calling the on-call doctor, which happened to be my doctor.  He talked to me and said I sounded ok and wanted to see me the next day.  So off I went to the doctor the next day and something about my blood pressure fluctuating a lot from one extreme to the next, hence my passing out.  He pulled me from work Tuesday and Wednesday.  Thursday I felt great and was happy to be back at school.  That night I had one of the worst migraines I've ever had and my son had a fever of 103.  This was all in the middle of the night.  I woke up Friday and the migraine wasn't gone (it was better, but not gone) and poor baby still had his fever.  So I ended up staying home Friday, too.  :(  What a week.

Even in the midst of totally unexpected and chaotic circumstances, I still managed to find some good in the two days that I was at work. :)

1.  All of my beginning of the year assessments were FINALLY finished!  I feel like I can really start thinking about TEACHING!  :)  That's one huge task that's finally done!

2.  One of my quiet kids is finally coming out of his shell.  He has really blown me away by how much he can do.  He would barely speak a word to me the first few weeks of school.  That's how shy this kid was!  But he has really started speaking up, making friends, and getting involved.

3.  Have you heard of or tried Whole Brain Teaching?  This is my biggest positive.  It was recommended to me because I just didn't know what to do with my class this year.  They are very antsy and have a hard time listening, paying attention, and staying on task.  I was in tears a couple of times because I just didn't know what to do.  I pulled out every trick in the bag that I knew of and it just wasn't sparking anything with them.  I went to the Whole Brain Teaching website and signed up.  Then I went to YouTube and found several videos.  I immediately ordered the book on Amazon and had it in my hands 2 days later.  Y'all.  This has completely transformed my class in a matter of two days.  I've never seen anything like it and I've never had anything work so well!  I told my student teacher that she must think I'm crazy for trying a completely new system 2 weeks into the new year.  But I told her that's the life of a teacher!  Some groups just need something different.  Good teachers are willing to do something different to meet their needs.  So check it out - especially if you have a squirmy class!

Have a great week, friends!  I'm just trying to stay caught up on life right now, especially in my last 7 weeks of being pregnant and trying to finish my reading endorsement class.  I will check in every Monday, Lord willing, and every other chance I get!  :)

Positive Points! A Brand New Linky...

Well, are you settled into the groove yet?  I am not.  Ha!  But I'm muddling through and taking it day by day.

I KNOW I am not the only one being bombarded by a to-do list a million miles long this year.  I KNOW I am not the only one being thrown tons of new things to implement all of a sudden.  I have heard from many people via Facebook, blogs, coworkers, etc...we are ALL facing so many negative things.  I can't even tell you the number of times I've cried and considered a career change.

I had this wild idea (I'm livin' on the edge, ya know?) to start a weekly linky party on Mondays called Positive Points.  I could gripe and complain all day long, but I decided I need to be intentional about looking for the positive things in each day.  Right now the negative are much stronger than the positive, but the positives are there.  Like the saying goes, "Every day may not be good.  But there is good in every day."

The only rule is that your positive points must be from SCHOOL!  My family or my dog or the weather or a vacation are definitely positives, but sometimes we need to find the positives in the negative environment.  Make sense?

Today was a STRESSFUL day.  Actually, it was stressful emotionally.  But for a few minutes, I'm going to forget about all that and remind myself of the positives.  I'd like to share them with you, if that's ok.  :)

1.  My kids are finally getting into a groove.  I'm not gonna lie, I was worried until the end of last week.  But they are settling in, getting to know the routine, and finally settling down.

2.  My hubby and son brought me 2 boxes of Tylenol and a Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino mid-morning!  I've been getting bad headaches/migraines every day for the past week or so, and he was trying to help me avoid one at school.  ;)

3.  My student teacher is AMAZING and SUCH a blessing!  She is so willing and ready to jump right in.  At times I feel guilty for turning over so much, but I know that it's also the best way to learn.  I'm so glad she wants to learn!

4.  At the end of the day last week, the tears just came.  I couldn't hold in my frustration and emotions any longer.  I was in a stressful meeting and when I left, I just let it all out.  I was a hot mess!  But thank goodness for amazing coworkers who let me cry it out and just hugged and loved on me in my moment of total breakdown.  I realized how truly blessed I am to have that "family" in my life.  Those hugs and reassurances were just the comfort I needed.  :)

Ok, so want to link up or read other people's positive points?  Let's face it...sometimes we just need to read or hear encouraging words in order to spark our own.

Use this image in your post and link back here.  Write your post and link up!  :)  I can't wait to hear all the good things about your days in the classroom.  :)