Five for Friday - Winter Break Edition

Today is the FIRST time that I've ever linked up Kacey and the Five for Friday Linky Party even though it's one of my favorites. I love seeing pictures of what all of my teacher friends are up to each week, and in the spirit of getting back to my blog--let's do this!

{1}

Usually my winter breaks are a little over a week long, but this year, I got two full weeks -- one with my family in Michigan, and one at home with my favorite three-year-old. We had all sorts of adventures hanging out together this week, but one of my favorites was having a "pajamas and hot chocolate day" together. She is becoming such an awesome little person, and I'm proud to be her mommy. I cherish these days of hugs and laughter together.

{2}

We started implementing a "family game night" tradition this week, and it has been a lot of fun! Sydney is finally old enough to start to understand board games, so we used her holiday gift cards to build up her stash. We start out the night with some of her choices (The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel is a particular favorite!), and then after her bedtime, we move on to the grown-up games like Ticket to Ride and Dominion. I've always loved playing games, so I'm excited to build this into our routines.

{3}

I go back to work on Monday, but it's going to be a staff development day. I'll see the kids on Tuesday. I've finally reached the "acceptance" stage of my break where I'm accepting that I have to go back to work and need to get going on grades and lesson plans. I pulled out the Tuesday bucket today so I can start to tackle that. Wish me luck!

{4}

As much as I enjoy the holidays, I was a little happy that they're over so I can take a break from the holiday-themed Jamberry wraps and try some of the other ones I've been hoarding. This is my latest manicure -- Mixed Signals matte. I love it. Speaking of the hoard...

{5}

I'm hosting a Jamberry open house tomorrow for my friends who want to try Jamberry. I recently became a Jamberry consultant because I love the wraps so much and wanted to cut my expenses a bit. I'm so glad that I did--it's been a lot of fun, and it has helped push me out of my comfort zone. Plus my nails always look good now. :-) If you'd like to try a free sample, you can fill out my form at http://samples.eberjams.com.

Have a great week!

5 Ways to Use iPads in Math

Today I'm linking up with the Tune into Technology Linky to share some ways to integrate technology in Math. Since I teach in a 1:1 iPad fourth grade classroom, I'll focus on how we use iPads in Math.

1. Build a Math Notebook in Evernote

Evernote is my all-time favorite note-taking app, and that extends to math as well. In addition to typing text notes, students can attach documents (handouts, activities, etc) that they've viewed on their iPads and they can also take pictures through the app or attach pictures from the camera roll. That's helpful when they build models with manipulatives and want to archive their work.

2. Reinforce concepts or conduct inquiry research with math movies.

BrainPop

Khan Academy

Two of my favorite apps to use in math are BrainPop and Khan Academy. I often use these to introduce a lesson or to differentiate instruction. I often feel like I get stretched pretty thin during math instruction because I have such a range of skills in my classroom, but these apps help. If I'm working with a student and a second student needs help, I can direct that student to a video on Khan Academy and encourage the student to see if that will help him or her figure out the problem until I can get there. Often the additional examples help the student understand the problem better.

3. Make math movies to assess understanding

Show Me

Explain Everything

I often ask students to show their solution to a problem on an app like Show Me or Explain Everything. There they can model their thinking using pictures or drawings, and they can record their voice as they explain their work. I learn so much about their understandings through their explanations, and it helps to assess the Standards for Mathematical Practice included in the Common Core.

4. Make a Vocabulary Notebook in Keynote

Keynote

I like to use Keynote for their math vocabulary because we can create slides that use the Frayer Model for vocabulary instruction. In addition to typing definitions, examples, and non-examples, they can draw their own pictures on a whiteboard app, take a screenshot, and add them to the slide. They can also search for real-world examples to photograph and add. Once they're finished, they can easily alphabetize their entries by rearranging the slides.

5. Use QR codes
Our math word wall has QR codes linking to the definitions of each term so students can quiz themselves about the meaning of a term or review terms they've forgotten. If you click on the image below, you can get a freebie example of this for the properties of multiplication.

My complete sets for grade 4, grade 5, and 4/5 combo are available at my TpT store.

We've also written riddles in Geometry where students could scan a QR code to find the answer. You can read my post about that here.

And we've used QR codes to help check homework assignments. I've written about that here.

I'm really just scratching the surface here -- there are so many other possibilities and several math specific apps to use, but I'll save those for future posts. I'm excited to read other examples of integrating technology into math, though, and if you haven't visited the linky yet, you definitely should. I got so many great ideas for reading and writing from it last week!

How do you use technology in Math?

Blog Hunting

Today I was hoping to link up with Laura Candler's Corkboard Connections Blog Hunt, but it seems that linky closed already [sadface].  Still, I want to share a little about what I'm using as my Google Reader alternative and why.


In my mind, this is a battle between BlogLovin' and Feedly.

BlogLovin'

I'll confess that I didn't move over to this platform initially. As soon as I caught wind a few months ago that Google Reader was dying, I quickly packed up and moved over to Feedly. With all of the recent push in the teacher-blogger community toward BlogLovin', however, I decided to give it another try.

What I like

As a blogger, there are a few features that I really like about BlogLovin'. 

1. Notifications and Blog Finding

I like that I can get notifications when new people start following me. I also like that when I click on those notifications, I can see what other blogs people are reading. I've stumbled upon some great new-to-me blogs that way over the past few days. 

2. Viewing actual blogs

Rather than seeing a stripped down version of someone's blog, I can see the actual website in a BlogLovin frame. This allows for easy commenting when I want to leave comments. It also lets me see how cute everyone's blog is these days.

What I dislike

1. Too many clicks

It seems like it takes forever to navigate sometimes, and I'm constantly clicking to mark things read, jump between blogs, and if I actually leave a comment on a blog, I lose my place in BlogLovin and have to start over with the remaining unread blogs. I subscribe to hundreds of blogs, so I have to be efficient when I'm looking at content. 

2. It's still buggy

I tried to go back and organize the blogs that I read into categories the other night, and I found that BlogLovin wasn't saving my organizational changes for blogs unless I categorized them as soon as I started following them. That was annoying. I also noticed that some blogs that I'm certain I was already following were showing up as unfollowed. Others were showing up multiple times in my reading list. I suspect that a lot of these bugs will improve -- I saw iPad updates for the app yesterday, so I know they're working on it, but I wish a lot of these features were already working better.

Feedly

Since I've been using this for a few months already, I'll openly confess that I'm a bit biased. It may also be the case that I've got this platform more figured out than BlogLovin, and some of the "advantages" of Feedly may exist in BlogLovin, too. But here's what I've found...

What I like

1. Better app integration

There are several different apps that I like to use when I'm reading blogs (and in this case, I'm talking about web-based apps, not iPad apps).

Pinterest - Feedly has Pinterest integration built in, so I can hover over an image and pin it straight from Feedly. The pin will link back to the original blog.

Buffer - Buffer is an app that I use to schedule Tweets so that they're spaced out throughout the day rather than sent all at once as I read blogs. If I read a blog post that I really like, I'll send it to Buffer to share with others.

IFTTT - If This Then That is an app that sets up certain actions based on commands that I give. For example, if I star an article that I like in Feedly, it will automatically send it to my Evernote notebook with tags that I set. There's a whole list of IFTTT recipes for Feedly here. 

Evernote - I can send items straight to my Evernote notebook from Feedly as one of the sharing options.

2. Easy navigation
There are lots of easy keyboard shortcuts to use to go through articles when I'm reading on my computer, and it's very easy to organize articles in categories. Even when I'm behind in my blog reading, I can get through it pretty quickly without feeling like I'm missing important content.

3. Marking articles
I know I can "heart" articles on BlogLovin, but I can mark articles on Feedly for later with specific tags that make them easier for me to find. For me, that's a better equivalent to starring articles on Google Reader, and I did that a lot.

What I dislike
1. Somethings get lost in translation
Sometimes the pictures don't get pulled into Feedly correctly (which might not be Feedly's fault), and I probably miss out on some cool content because of it.

2. Commenting is more complicated
I still have to click to go to the external link of the original blog post to comment or read comments. This is especially complicated when I'm using the iPhone or iPad apps. When I'm on a mobile device, I usually mark the article I want to comment on for later and check it out when I'm back to my computer.

And the winner is...Feedly, mostly

At least for now, I'm sticking with Feedly. I still like visiting BlogLovin' to find new blogs to follow, but my new strategy is to follow on BlogLovin', and then I add it to a list called "On My Feedly." Then I add the blog to one of my reading lists on Feedly. Then when I go into BlogLovin', I can immediately mark the "On My Feedly" list as read because I'll know I've seen it all on Feedly. There are a bunch of new blogs that I started following as I was trying out BlogLovin' that aren't on my Feedly list yet, so that will be a process to move those over. It's not a perfect system, but I expected some growing pains in the transition. 

I'm going to continue to use BlogLovin to discover new blogs because that's a huge benefit in my mind.

Where did you land in the Google Reader alternative battle? I'd love to hear what you chose and why in the comments section! 

Tune Into Technology Linky: Integrating Technology into Reading

I'm excited to be linking up with iTeach 1:1 and Learning to the Core for their new series Tune into Technology. This week's topic is Integrating Technology into Reading, so I wanted to share 5 strategies I use to do this.

1. Let kids annotate their reading with GoodReader.

I've talked about this app before, but it's one of my favorites. GoodReader allows you to annotate pdf documents. I use it for almost all of my professional reading, and I've converted several documents into pdfs for my students as well. It's a fantastic tool because my students are able to leave "think marks" all over their reading, and I don't have to worry about them writing in a book or leaving sticky notes everywhere. We've even developed our own codes for how to use the annotation tools.

2. Share favorite books on KidBlog.

My students LOVE sharing the books they're reading on KidBlog, and they especially love reading and commenting on each other's blogs. I've talked more about how we do this in a previous post.

3. Create Book Trailers in iMovie.

Some of my students began doing this for fun at the end of the school year when we became a 1:1 iPad classroom, and I will definitely be doing this more next year. iMovie has some great templates built-in for this, and my students loved being able to share their favorite books through this medium.

4. Create book clubs and discussion groups on Edmodo.

We started using Edmodo at the end of the school year, and it was a great way to get conversations started or keep them going about the books we were reading in class. You can read more about getting started with Edmodo in my paperless series here.

5. Use Evernote and GoodReader to assess reading.

I use the running record templates from the Reading & Writing Project at Teacher's College. Because they're pdf files, I can annotate them in GoodReader, and I can record students while they're reading in Evernote. I've written a complete tutorial on how to do this here.

How do you integrate technology into reading instruction in your classroom? I'd love to hear your ideas. And be sure to link up with the Tune into Technology linky!

And don't forget to join us for the Southeastern Blogger Meet Up. Click the button below to get the details and RSVP!

July Currently & Goals & a Meet Up!

Oh, July! You seemed so far away a month ago. How could you possibly be almost here already?! Can't we add another month in between June and July? I really, REALLY want to hold on to June as long as possible. I'm really not ready to return to work in a few weeks...

Currently July

I'm linking up with Farley at Oh Boy! 4th Grade for the July Currently.

Listening: My little girl is almost 2, and she LOVES books. She also loves Pete the Cat. I took her to my favorite children's book store, Little Shop of Stories, to get the new Pete the Cat book the day it came out. Given that she knows and loves the song "Wheels on the Bus," it's a great book for her to "read" on her own.

Loving: Planbook.com. I signed up for the one-month trial to tinker around with it, and it's fantastic. I'll definitely be using it next year.

Thinking: that I'm much more prepared to teach the Common Core this year -- especially with math. I'm excited about implementing all of the things that I worked on this summer to get ready for math, and I'm optimistic about my year ahead.

Wanting: a longer summer break. There are so many things that I still want to do before going back to school, and I don't think I'm going to be able to get them all done.

Needing: a maid. I can't keep up with my husband, toddler, and two dogs. Once I go back to work, it may be time to hire someone to come in each week.

Tips, Tricks & Hints: One thing that helps me with time management is to try to group all of my like-projects together and work on them at once. For example, I have one day a week at school that I do all of my copying (or at least I did before going paperless!). I also spend one day working on plans for each subject (e.g., a day for math planning, a day for science, etc.) and a day for working on blog posts, etc for the week. This helps me use my time more efficiently and stay relatively organized.

July Goals

I'm also linking up with Jess at I {Heart} Recess for the first time for the monthly goals post.

Personal: I want to start exercising at least 3 times a week (baby steps). I return to work in a couple weeks (!), and I know with all that I'll be juggling this year between work and my doctorate that I will need to do better with exercise for balance and stress management.

Family: I want to squeeze in a couple more "date days" before going back to school. My daughter is in school year round, so on "date days," my husband leaves his office before lunch, and then we go out to lunch and catch a movie before picking her up. It saves us babysitting costs, and it's a fun way to spend our afternoon.

Health: A few years ago when I lost a lot of weight, the biggest change I made was that I consistently drank 64 oz of water every day. Now that I've gained back the weight (and then some), I need to start drinking at least that much water every day.

School: I report to our staff retreat on July 17th, and then pre-planning officially starts on July 25th. I need to figure out how I'm going to decorate my room before then and map out some plans for the first few weeks before then.

Blog/TpT: I'm hoping to wrap up my Paperless Challenge series in the next few weeks, and I have several new TpT products in the works. This summer has just gone by too quickly for me to finish it all!

Outside the Box: I want to find some easy and tasty breakfast and lunch recipes that I can use throughout the year. I do a fairly good job cooking healthy dinners, but I am not consistent the rest of the day. I often forget to eat breakfast, and then I don't make the best choices for lunch either. The more I plan ahead, the better prepared I'll be. And this justifies spending more time on Pinterest. Win-win!

Southeastern Bloggers Meet Up!

Have you heard about the Southeastern-area blogger meet up? It's about time that those of us in Georgia and the surrounding areas get together, and I'm super thankful that Stacia, Amanda, and Jivey from Collaboration Cuties and Ideas by Jivey have  organized something for us. If you are close to Atlanta, I hope you'll join us for the meet up on July 20th. It promises to be lots of fun.

Click on any of the images below to connect with Jivey's blog where you can RSVP.

I hope to meet lots of other fabulous teacher bloggers there! Click the button below to RSVP.

Giveaway Winner!

I had so much fun seeing what everyone posted in the Teacher Toolbox Trio linky. Thanks to everyone who linked up.

I went to the Random Number Generator this morning, and drumroll...

I'm excited to announce that Stephanie Ann from Sparkling in Kindergarten was the winner of the $25 Teachers Pay Teachers gift certificate. Congratulations, Stephanie Ann!

And welcome to all of my new followers! I have lots that I look forward to sharing this summer.

Have a great weekend!

3 Favorite & Underappreciated Apps

I recently stumbled on an adorable blog called "Thirsty Firsties," and Kelly, the author, is hosting a linky party about iPad apps.

The rules are to share three apps - one free for classroom use, one paid for classroom use and one favorite app for personal use. She's also giving away an iTunes gift card as part of the linky, so be sure to check out her blog and join in the fun!

I've already shared many of the apps that I love and use in the classroom. See, for example, my list of favorite paid apps and my list of favorite free apps. So today, I'm branching out to share some of the apps that I've used and enjoyed this year that I haven't really talked about before.

Favorite Free App - Spelling City

Vocabulary Spelling City is a great app for teaching students vocabulary or spelling words. It has a variety of engaging games, and it can be used by students at all levels. The app itself is free and has a lot of functionality on its own. If you are a premium subscriber to Spelling City, however, it's a great complement to the activities you assign your students each week. I had my students doing activities on this app almost daily, and our differentiated weekly spelling tests were done entirely through this app (with the teacher premium subscription).

Favorite Paid App - Marble Math

Marble Math is a fun and challenging math game that addresses a broad range of math computation skills. I'll confess that I've even found myself playing it far longer than a typical "teacher test-drive" would require. The object is to navigate a marble through a maze by solving a variety of problems. It includes fractions, decimals, equations, and negative numbers, so this is probably best for grades 4 and higher. Of all of the apps on our iPads this year, this was the one that students seemed to gravitate toward most in their free time.

Favorite Personal App - Feedly

In the debate between Feedly and BlogLovin, I'm coming down on the side of Feedly for one major reason -- I LOVE the iPad app. It's really easy to flip through and navigate, it rotates, and it doesn't seem to crash as much as BlogLovin did. In fact, I've never had a single problem with it. I don't tend to comment on blogs as much from my iPad, so I can't speak to that aspect of comparing the two. Usually if I'm browsing blogs on my iPad, I'll mark the blogs that I want to comment on and comment through my computer later on. So for the sheer visual appeal of the app for reading blogs, I'm a big fan. This has become one of my favorite go-to apps on my iPad.

Now it's your turn. What are your three favorite apps? I'd love to hear about them, and be sure to link up with Kelly over at Thirsty Firsties if you get a chance. She's running the contest for the iTunes gift card through Monday.

And don't forget to link up with my Teacher Toolbox Trio celebration as well! I can't wait to discover more awesome classroom resources from TpT!

Teacher Toolbox Trio Linky Celebration!

Since the advent of Teachers Pay Teachers, my teaching toolbox has changed quite a bit. There are so many things that I've made or bought for my classroom, and there are many others that are on my wishlist. To recognize that, I'm hosting a Teacher Toolbox Trio linky party.

Here are the rules of the trio:
1. Share a product that you've made that you couldn't live without.
2. Share a product that you've purchased that you love.
3. Share something from your wish list that you're hoping to get for next year.

If you're not a seller on TpT, no worries -- just share two products you've purchased that you love!

1. Something I've Made

The Classroom Economy Megapack was my first major project for TpT, and without question, it was the one that I used all the time last year. It has everything I needed for setting up my classroom jobs, monitoring daily behaviors on a clip chart, running my classroom economy, and giving students free/very low-cost rewards. Unlike my units that were used here and there, this was on display in my classroom all 180 days, and my kids loved it. This is the one thing that I could not live without.

2. Something I Purchased

Erin's "A Roller Coaster Day" sub plans were amazing! I had to go to an all day district committee meeting on a Friday in May when the kids were already getting a little crazy, but they LOVED this. The sub said it kept them engaged all day, and given that I was already at the stage of the year when all of our required curriculum had been taught, it was perfect. It will be a permanent addition to my sub folder, and she's also made one for grades 5-6. You can follow Erin's blog: I'm Lovin Lit. 

3. Something on My Wish List

I'm really planning to focus on math facts and mental math skills early in the school year, and Laura Candler's Mastering Math Facts has been on my radar screen for a while. I'm hoping to snag a copy before I go back in July. (Yes, July!)  Laura's blog is Corkboard Connections.

The Linky Celebration

This is more than just a party -- it's a celebration! I've been meaning to do something to celebrate hitting 100 followers for a while now, and as I near the 150 mark, it's definitely time! If you link up through the tool below, you'll be eligible to win a $25 gift certificate from Teachers Pay Teachers -- enough to possibly clear off some items from your own wish list!

clip art from KPM Doodles

I'll be using a random number generator to select the winner from those who link up. The linky celebration will end next Friday, June 14 at 11:59pm EDT and the winner will be announced on my blog on Saturday.

Can't wait to discover some new products and see some of your favorites! Be sure to link up below, and please include the Teacher Toolbox Trio icon and/or another link to Eberopolis in your post.

Happy linking!