April Currently!

http://ohboy3rdgrade.blogspot.com

Well I can't believe this month has gone by so quickly and I am just now posting this! 

I'm linking up with Farley (just in the nick of time) to share what's been going on in my world currently in April.

~Listening~

To the Kid President.

This kid is just too much! Such a hilarious little guy. I could listen to him all day :)

(he makes me chuckle)

~Loving~

Our Weather Unit

We learned all about cloud facts.

And we discussed cloud adjectives:

These ideas came from this awesome unit:

Happy Clouds

And our literature study:

We focused on Author's Purpose as we read Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.

 

I absolutely LOVED using this mini unit and my kids were able to grasp the concept really quickly thanks to these awesome learning posters.

Feel free to grab yourself a copy HERE

We also had an absolute BLAST reading Thunder Cake written by Patricia Polocco then making it together.

It was so tasty!

~Thinking~

About the April Fool's prank I played on my kiddos.

I told them I brought them brownies, and then I showed them the tray with some brown "E" 's

They were pretty good sports and put up with my corny sense humor.

(thank you pinterest!)

~Wanting~

Our Chicks to hatch!

We tried hatching eggs in March and I'm sad to say not a single egg hatched! 

It was so sad, but we decided to try it again. 

We definitely learned some important things from the last time and I have a good feeling about this batch. Fingers crossed they should start hatching on May 10th (Mother's Day, wouldn't that be cool!)

So we are on round 2

~Needing~

A NAP…enough said!

~EGGsplain Your Name~

So there are two reasons I named my blog Steppin' Up To First Grade.

Reason #1: I teach a combined Kindergarten/First grade class and my kindlers always get to step up to First Grade with me (pretty fun)

Reason #2: Every year our school has a "Step Up" day where students get to "step up" to the next grade and test it out. They always love it!

And with that I'm signing off...

February Currently

I'm excited to link up again with Farley over at Oh' Boy 4th Grade 

to share my February currently.

Here's what I've been thinking about/loving this month:

Listening 

To the song: Meant To Be by JJ Heller

I just discovered this song yesterday and I gotta warn ya- it's very catchy but I absolutely LOVE the sweet sentiment and it really reminds me of my hubby (cue sigh-awww)
Loving My new couch! We decided to take the plunge this weekend and upgrade to a larger couch so my whole family/all our friends could come over and sit comfortably  (now no one needs to chill on the floor)
Check out the before and after shots.  ~WARNING~ the pics are super blurry (sorry) but I think you'll get the general idea.
BEFORE

AFTER

Seriously this couch is SO comfy, I want to actually spend a night sleeping on it! It's AHHMAZING!
Thinking All about our upcoming science unit. We will be hatching chicks in our classroom. I CAN NOT WAIT!!

I've always wanted to do this, but I had no idea where to start.  I finally have some help and several teacher friends who have done it before and can give me advice and support.  The other aspect to this whole chick hatching project that always felt a little daunting was the funding. It's gonna cost a pretty penny to purchase all the necessary materials. Well the exciting news is my chick fund is almost fully funded! I had some very generous parents make donations to help us out. I am so touched and grateful for their generosity. It just warms my heart! We will be starting this unit next month-  So Excited!
Wanting To eat sugar. I've been fasting from sugar and alcohol (mostly trying to cleanse) and it's finally coming to an end on Valentines!!
Needing A massage. After starting yoga 2 weeks ago, I had several muscles that were not used to being stretched and used wake up and start aching- needless to say I would definitely love a massage to work out all the knots. 
*Pagent Title* I'm going to give myself the title  Miss Bright&Bubbly
I'm just feeling so excited for our Valentines party and our 100th day of school celebration I'm bubbling over with joy and anticipation.
Wishing you a sweet Valentines week everyone!

December Currently and a FREEBIE!

It's that time again! I'm linking up with Farley over at Oh Boy 4th Grade for the December Currently.

Here's what's going on currently in my world:

~Listening to~
Disney's animated A Christmas Carol I've got a confession for ya: I actually love watching kids movies! When I'm home alone, I usually browse by Fox Family to see if there is anything worth watching, and for the months of October and December I am one happy camper since they show 31 Halloween movies and now they are celebrating 25 days until Christmas with Christmas movies GALORE! I'm in heaven.  I also love A Christmas Carol (animated version) because I know two people who actually worked on that movie! Two of my co-workers have husbands who work in the movie industry. It's cool to know the person behind all of those special effects- I think it makes the movie more interesting :)
~Loving~
Dressember
Recently I learned about this amazing movement. The challenge is to wear a dress for all 31 days in December to raise awareness and funding to help fight human trafficking and violence against women.  I feel like it is something little that I can do during the holiday season to try and make a difference and be a voice for the voiceless victims. 
Here's how my challenge is going so far:

< Day 1     Day 2>

< Day 3    


                       Day 4>

If you are interested in learning more about the Dressember movement feel free to read about it HERE

And if you want to join the movement or do something incredible this December feel free to check out my page HERE

~Thinking~

All about Elf on the Shelf!

Our elf has been up to some funny things this week. I'm trying to brainstorm some fun things to surprise my kids with for the next 2 weeks. 

~Wanting~

To pig out on Christmas cookies. I got invited to a holiday cookie party tonight. I'm required to bring 72 cookies to exchange at the party.

Let me just say- it's taking ALL the self control I have to not eat my cookies before bringing them to the party! AHHH! So tempting!

It's a fun tradition that started 4 years ago. 

I love the idea of bringing 6 dozen cookies to the party and exchanging what I baked with everyone for a dozen of each of their cookies.

That way all of my holiday baking gets done in one night- and I don't have to mess up my kitchen! HA!

I'm looking forward to sampling all the tasty holiday treats tonight!

Oh and in case you're wondering what I decided to make:

Lemon Squares

If you are interested in making them here's the recipe:

Lemon Squares

Ingredients:

1 C butter (2 sticks)

2 C flour

1/2 C powdered sugar

4 eggs

7 TB. lemon juice

2 C white sugar

1/4 C flour

1 tsp. baking powder

Icing:

2 C powdered sugar

3 TB butter

3 TB lemon juice

Directions:

Mix the first 3 ingredients to a cornmeal consistency and pat into a 9"x13" pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 min. Put the next 5 ingredients in a blender. Blend well.

Pour over warm crust and bake for 25 min. 

When crust cools, glaze with Icing.

To make icing, blend powdered sugar, butter and lemon juice. Spread on cake and let cool. Cut into small squares.

Enjoy! :)

~Needing~

To seriously finish up some TPT units I've been working on for awhile now! It may not happen until Christmas break when I've got a good chunk of time and some serious caffeine in my hands! :)

~Giving~

And lastly, I'll be giving away a little FREEBIE!!

This year for Christmas our elementary students will be performing for their families. Each class was responsible to prepare and present something and I thought it would be fun to teach my students a poem.

Since I could not, for the life of me, find a Christmas poem to teach them, I decided to just go ahead and make one.

It's not a masterpiece by any means, but if you're in a pinch and need something cute for your kiddos to share- it'll do just fine.

Feel free to download yourself  a FREE copy. Just click on the link below:

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Christmas-Poem-1596845

And to help you all get in the holiday spirit I thought I'd leave you with a little something fun!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

November Currently

So, all I have to say about posting this currently so late in the game is that it's been a VERY busy 2 weeks (to say the least)!
Well, better late than never don't ya think? :)
So here we go- I'm linking up again with Farley from Oh Boy 4th Grade to share my November currently.

~Listening~

*This one's a bit personal, but it's really what I'm listening to* To Joyce Meyer on Youtube. I have to admit, I never considered listening to her until recently, and honestly I don't know what took me so long! I was so challenged and genuinely encouraged to grow and change just from listening to this inspiring woman. 
This particular video was especially convicting:

I think the topic "defeating bad moods" is particularly relevant.  I used to be a really moody and I thought it was justified, but lately I've started to rethink that concept. This is definitely something I don't want to be characterized by and after watching this, I realized this is something that can change. What a relief!
~Loving~
November Artwork!

 It's been fun getting ready for Thanksgiving with my students. We have been talking about what we are thankful for and let me tell you, I was very thankful for THIS freebie on TPT. Aren't these little turkeys adorable?
I thought this was the perfect template!

Our school's art teacher created these crafts with our 2nd/3rd grade class and 4th/5th grade class.
Aren't they amazing!

~Thinking~ All about Thanksgiving!! Seriously its getting so close and I can almost taste all that scrumptious comfort food!
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday pretty much because I'm a Major foodie and I can't get enough quality time with my fam. I love that this holiday is all about food and family and I am so excited to celebrate it again in just a few short weeks.
This year, we get to celebrate with even more family and will be traveling to Ohio to celebrate my cousin's wedding and Thanksgiving (all in one amazing week). 
I hear there might be snow :)
Which leads me to what I'm now Wanting:

I'm thinking since I will be traveling to the land of perpetual winter, it might be a good idea to invest in some cute ankle boots :) I may have a shoe obsession, but I think this purchase might be justifiable.
~Needing~
A Vacation- and I'm so happy to say I will be taking one Thanksgiving week! I am beyond excited to see all my cousins and celebrate with them all!
~Reading~

This is one of my all time favorite turkey/Thanksgiving books. Its super cute and funny. I'm looking forward to reading this to my students next week!

You can pick up your copy HERE

With one more week of school (we get Thanksgiving week off! woohoo) I'm am gearing up for our final week before we are on break. I am very thankful for that :)

Have a wonderful weekend!