Newbie Blog Hop

 Janis at "Third Grade is the Place for Me" started this great blog hop for people like me that are new to blogging.  What a great idea.





 The only rules are to tell a little about yourself and then add your blog to the list. Easy enough, I can do that. Here are the prompts:

1. what state you are in

2. your current teaching position

3. your teaching experience

4. when you started blogging

5. share a blogging tip / blogging resource

#1 I am in Colorado.

#2 I am teaching third grade for my 7th year.

#3 I have been teaching for 21 years now in K-3rd grades.

#4 I started blogging in May, 2012.

#5 Give things away on your blog, don't just tell about what you are doing.

Now I'll be busy checking out all the new blogs.  I'll have some pictures of my new classroom soon with some freebies.  I've been working on all of our new curriculum and setting up my room with Whole Brain Teaching.

Curriculum Maps and a Freebie

Okay - I know I've been gone for awhile. Since my last post; my youngest daughter turned 15 (party time), my husband turned ??? (another party), my oldest daughter had a 4th of July party for a bunch of teenagers, I celebrated my 21st wedding anniversary, I presold 6 puppies that I’m still cleaning up after every day, we bought an old garage in town that we are remodeling for our church, and on and on and on.  I think things are slowing down a bit now.



Our school adopted a curriculum map, and is converting to standard based instruction.  All of us are asked to use the textbooks as a resource only and to find resources online and elsewhere to create curriculum to match the maps.  This has been a challenge to say the least.  I’ve been working on it for 3 weeks now and have not even completed the 2 weeks that we will be in school in August. 

Adapted from WBT - Chris Biffle

 I’m including, as a freebie, one ELA standard (CCSS:RF3.4.a or CAS:2.3.b.i *- "Read grade level text with purpose and understanding") I’ve completed so far to give you an idea of what it looks like and maybe even for you to use. I will be using "The Daily Five" and "Whole Brain Teaching" this year so I'm aligning everything to these models as you will see if you download it through TpT.  You can click on "freebie", "TpT" or the pictures to download it.  I’m really hoping to find someone else out there who is or has had to do the same thing. I’ve found lots of ideas in blog-land and pinterest and the internet but I’m nowhere close to being ready for the new year to begin.  I can’t take a month to plan for a month.  I really need to get this figured out, so if anyone has any ideas please share.  I need help.  Thanks!

*CAS = Colorado academic standards
CCSS = Common core state standards

Thank You!

I am so excited!  I just received the "One Lovely Blog Award" from Mrs. Wilson's 4th Graders Are on the Road to Success.  Thank you!

Once you receive the award, you have to pass it on to others! Here are the 3 rules to follow:
1. Follow the person who gave you the award.
2. Link back to the person who gave you the award.
3. Pass the award on to 15 new bloggers.

Now I'm in search of 15 new bloggers that don't yet have this great award. This might take me a little while so I'll add to it as I go.  Here they are:

http://smalladventuresofthirdgrade.blogspot.com/

http://allabout3rd.weebly.com/index.html

The best thing is I found some new friends and followed a bunch more blogs.  YEA!