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Five for Friday!

April 10, 2015 7 Comments
Happy Friday all!!  It’s been a great but WAY too fast week and I can’t wait to recap what’s been happening with Doodle Bugs Teaching’s Five for Friday linky!  Since this has been my week off, there’s not much school related but still fun happenings to share!
I CAN.NOT.STOP.STARING at my beautiful new blog design! I have been so excited to share with this new design.  I was so excited to share with all of you that it’s not even all the way finished and I’m posting with it haha.  I contacted Tenille at Designs by Tenille after researching aka blog stalking some of my favorite teaching blogs and seeing who designed them.  I realized that Tenille was the creative genius behind SO many of my beloved blogs.  I contacted her and shared all of my crazy ideas and she was so accommodating.  I am a slight perfectionist (it’s opposite day here in NJ) and I may have had a lot of comments about the design but whatever crazy comments or requests I made, Tenille was ready to listen and create a design that was just right for me!  
I have to give a huge shoutout to Elsa at the The Whole Wheat Class and Jennifer at A Dab of Glue Will Do for giving me advice and helping me through the process!  I am seriously in awe of this teacher and blogger community.  You ladies are amazing!
I’m planning something special to celebrate the new design so stay tuned!  But, in the meantime if you’re interested in a blog redesign or are just getting started, I highly recommend Tenille (link is above)!
  
Do you follow me on instagram??  I am so beyond grateful to be a part of this fantastic ig loop giveaway with so many wonderful teachers and bloggers.  If you follow me on instagram @teachtalkinspire like the picture for the 7th Inning Stretch Giveaway!  You’ll want to follow the directions and click through the whole group to be entered in a giveaway to win a $150 gift card to my favorite place TARGET!  But, that’s not all!  If you want you can hit a GRAND SLAM and loop through the OTHER giveaway for 7th inning stretch and be entered to win their $150 gift card to Target!  That’s a total of $300 to any teacher’s happy place!  Good luck, I hope to see you over on ig!  The giveaway ends this Sunday, April 12 at 9:00 pm.
Spring Break has given me some much needed time to relax and create!  I talked about my Magical Measurement unit in a previous blog but I can’t wait to kick off our math unit when we get back as measurement magicians!  I have bought way too many magic show props to really sell this unit to my students!  
We’ll also be working with possessive pronouns when we get back.  Our reading program BARELY skims the surface with this skill for first graders, so I wanted to create something that would be fun for my littles.  They already know my obsession with dogs so I thought why not capitalize on this a little bit?!  My newest unit will hopefully be posted later today or tomorrow.  There will be anchor charts, center activities, and cooperative learning games to help little learners understand their new skills…see what I did there šŸ˜‰
If you want to check out my Magical Measurement unit, head on over to my TpT store here!
There’s nothing fancy about this but over Spring Break I have been trying to find a way to be more organized and intentional with our ELA curriculum.  This summer we’re adopting the Journeys Common Core 2014 reading series and I’m on the ELA committee.  I’m determined to work with a team of teachers to take this curriculum apart and put it back together to work with a balanced literacy approach.  This was my first attempt at organization, taking the comprehension strategies found in the series and organizing them by lesson to see when and how they introduce each strategy.  I love the reading workshop model and I will not give up until I find a way to make this series and a workshop model fit together.  No one class is the same and I want to make sure I’m able to take this series and make it work for my little learners!  Wish me luck!
Roger Dodger, my husband, and I successfully made it to Pittsburgh on our first family road trip!  There were no casualties, just LOTS of dog hair and puppy kisses for the driver. I’ve spent a lot of time this week with my furry friend.  It’s been nice to be home and relax with him!
This weekend we have two couples coming to visit us from Boston that we’ve known since college.  One of my best friends is pregnant and I haven’t seen her since she announced the news, I’m so excited to spend time with them and celebrate this exciting time!  
I hope you all have a great weekend!

7 Comments

  • MyDayinK April 10, 2015 at 11:09 pm

    I just love your new design Jayme! I know I already said that on Instagram, but I just had to say it again! It turned out great, I'll have to check out her website. I'm glad you had a relaxing spring break. Looks like you put together some great products! Your dog is just too cute, love the pics! Enjoy your weekend. ::)

    • Jayme April 11, 2015 at 10:11 pm

      Thank you so much Diana! Definitely check out Tenille's website and see her portfolio. She's done a lot of teacher blogs and they all are unique and adorable! Thanks for the sweet words, Roger definitely has a lot of personality! I hope you have a great weekend!

  • Suzanne April 11, 2015 at 4:36 am

    Hi Jayme! Wow! Your blog design is stunning! I feel like I can't stop staring at it either šŸ™‚ It sounds like you had a productive and fun spring break – yahoo! By the way, are you going to the TpT conference? I'd love to meet up if so šŸ™‚
    Suzanne

    Kindergarten Planet

    • Jayme April 11, 2015 at 10:15 pm

      Thank you so much Suzanne! I'm so glad you like it! I haven't decided about the TpT conference yet. I want to go SO badly but I don't know if I'm able to make it this year. I know that there are limited spaces available so I have to make the decision soon! I would love to meet you too! I know the conference is an amazing experience and such a wonderful way to connect to other authors and bloggers. I will let you know when I decide. Have a great weekend!

  • Recipe for Teaching April 11, 2015 at 4:26 pm

    Your new blog design looks WONDERFUL!!! I love the glitter and the stars and the color combination is great!! The 7th inning stretch Target gift card giveaway is a great idea!! So much fun to find new Instagram friends to follow!! Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

    • Jayme April 11, 2015 at 10:16 pm

      Thank you so much Heather! I'm so glad that you like it! I'm so happy with the design and how everything came together, Tenille did a wonderful job! I hope you joined in on the giveaway. It's been great to connect with so many bloggers and TpT sellers! I hope you have a great weekend!

  • Mrs. Wheat April 12, 2015 at 1:13 am

    Love, love, love the blog design, girl! Thanks for the shout out! I really lived reading about your mission to organize your readers block and modify your new curriculum to fit your teaching style and kiddos. I also might be a little jealous. I love the workshop model too! After teaching my ELA block that way for 12 years my district turned around and adopted a new, scripted curriculum which offers very little wiggle room for modification or differentiation. I'm really struggling.
    So excited to check out your measurement unit. We start measurement next week!
    Have a great weekend, friend! Chat with you soon!

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    Welcome!
    Welcome!
    Hi! I’m Jayme! A former elementary teacher turned stay at home mom sharing toddler activities, mom tips, and educational resources to help you learn and play with your children. I believe in the power of PLAY and creating meaningful activities for you and your little ones to enjoy together.

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