Currently short and sweet

Happy Sunday, friends!  Yay...I am posting twice in one week...Wow!  Not only that...but I am hooking up with Farley for this month's Currently...a day early! 

It has been such a relaxing day today, and it is so pretty outside! I am torn between staying inside and stepping out into the beautiful sun. So I will try to make this post short and sweet since my last one was forever long....

I really wanted to share the new additions to my room ~ my babies LOL...

I am in LOVE with my new shelves! Whoo hoo.....

Yesterday, Joshua and I spent the afternoon at the school doing a little painting...

Here are the before pics...I have to send out a big THANK YOU to my wonderful step-dad that took the time to build these for me! He came out and took measurements and got to work. I LOVE them!

 

My handsome help for the day, Joshua. He was such a trooper to help me get these painted in one afternoon...

Almost done....a work in progress...

Joshua decided that he wanted to give a shot at graffiti....haha....he marked the back of my shelves. He later informed me that if I ever retire, he wants all of these shelves in his room, and he should get them since his name is on them...crazy kid...

Another look at the finished project....I cannot wait to fill these up! The shorter shelves under the SmartBoard will be for all of my mentor texts. The taller shelves will be for my growing nonfiction library. 

This is what the space looked like before...

This was my small nonfiction library

This is where I stored all of my mentor texts...

The only problem was the poor tubs were not strong enough to handle the weight of all those books, so I knew that there would be new shelves in my near future...darn LOL...

Like I said, I cannot wait to start getting everything organized and filling those shelves up with all of those books! Maybe ~ just maybe ~ my library won't be bursting at the seams for a while!

Here is the new shelf that is replacing the unfortunate accident we had at the end of the year.

This is how the larger library usually looks...

This is after our unfortunate
shelving mishap...:/

Oh well. Accidents happen and no one was hurt, so no worries...at least we have a replacement shelf ready to be filled!

I can't wait to get pics of all of the finished projects up! As beautiful as I think all the shelves are, I know they will look even better covered in all those books!

Here is another little project I have been working on. I saw this on Pinterest..(of course)...and I have been chomping at the bit to get my own. Well, looky here; I finally got my hands on a gum ball machine and filled it with cap erasers! I am anxious to see how this works out this coming school year.

I only one book recommendation for you...

It is one that I cannot wait to share with my new kiddos, and it is a perfect way to open that discussion about the LOVE of reading and writing. Not to mention that it is absolutely beautiful to look at!

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore by William Joyce is a true work of art that pulls at the heart of all readers that understand the power of the written word. It began as an Oscar winning animated short. It also has a great App out there, so be sure to check that out!

Well, I don't know how successful I was in my efforts of being short and sweet, but I enjoyed sharing! Don't forget to stop by Farley's!

Happy Reading!

Five for Friday and Bloglovin

Well, hello my long lost friends....it has been forever since I sat down in my comfy corner to work on my blog...this has been a busy summer so far!

I am glad to actually be joining Doodle Bug for Five for Friday...on an actual Friday...go figure!

I hope it is not cheating if I my five are not just from the past week...but from my last post! We'll see...

Here goes...

#1

I am LOVING doing our school's Summer Reading Hot Spots! I was soooooo nervous about taking this on because you know it is one thing to read to my group of fourth grade kiddos...but to read to a room of kids of all ages...including the the biggest kiddos of all...parents! Whew...a nail biter for sure, but...no worries now. The kids and adults that make it to our hot spots all love books as much as I do! I have had some fun and wonderful help with teachers stopping by to give recommendations to the smaller kiddos...because you all know those little ones are NOT my area of expertise! Thank you, Dawn! And so far, the hardest part of this entire adventure has been deciding which of my favorite picture books to read!

How cool is this bus! I want one!

 

#2

Believe it or not, I have made an effort to NOT spend my whole summer in my classroom...

The kiddos and I had an awesome time at the Memphis Zoo!

Two of my four babies...wish I could have them
all with me all the time...

All I could think about was
The One and Only Ivan  :(

You KNOW I had to find the Flamingos!

Could watch her swim all day....
so beautiful!

#3

Confession time...although I am making an effort to not spend my entire summer between the four walls of my classroom...I seem to be pretty close to doing just that...and is it even sadder that I am sort of OK with that? LOL

Here are a couple of pieces that I have been working on....

 

Here are a couple more that I will be finishing
tomorrow...whoop whoop...

Here is an even scarier confession ~ just one more admission of true nerdy hopelessness ~

As I type, the last of my book shelves are being completed and will be delivered to the school tomorrow....and NOT so SECRETLY...I CANNOT wait to get in there and paint them...the sooner the better! LOL....I am so excited! 

Just look at the pics below to see....this mess of a room/ library was well-past-due for an overhaul!

Since most of my own all too grown kiddos have jobs and are off on their own, that usually leaves a very quiet house...with so much work to be done at school...I find it comforting to be surrounded by all of my favorite books and checking things off of my to-do list all at the same time!

Yes...yes...crazy, I know...but take me as I am, right?!

#4

Yesterday, I attended one of my favorite professional developments of the year: So Many Picture Books, So Little Time. Surprised? Hahahaha....LOVE this one!  

Dr. Wendy Ellis at Harding University shares more than 50 new and fun titles...a couple that I fell in love with...I will share later! I can't wait to read them to my summer babies!

After the workshop, Sarah and I stopped by a local book store, only to find fellow teachers searching for new titles. Hahaha...I didn't know if I wanted to laugh or just push them out of the way, so I could get all the good ones....wow...just kidding....I think. ;)

#5

Another moment of truth...I am really not sure what all this Bloglovin is...but I am a blog lovin' kind of girl...so I am jumping right on in! LOL...just like me to jump without looking but what do I have to lose, right?

So I downloaded the Bloglovin app, and I am adding blogs like crazy! Love having all my favorites in one place! Jeesh....where have I been? 

Be sure to click on the link below to follow us :)

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Welp....that's it for my Five for Friday! Don't forget to stop by Doodle Bugs!

NOW...for my favorite part....

Here are some awesome picture books to check out...

The first one I have already shared with my summer reading kiddos....they loved it!

My Mom is Trying to Ruin My Life by Kate Feiffer is so perfectly sweet...I could just hear the echos of my own baby girl at that age, sarcasm and all, LOL. I am sure at this point she would have 5 completely different ways that I am totally ruining her life, but just as with this cute little story...the love is still there and that is all that matters in the end! This is a great little look at common themes in literature. I can't put my finger on just why, but I adore the illustrations by Diane Goode....simple and sweet.

I have spent more than a little time this summer browsing the sale racks of some of my favorite books stores, and I found this cutie-patootie and couldn't resist...as usual, I guess. LOL...

Itsy Mitsy Runs Away by Elanna Allen is a story of the precocious but cutest little thing ever, Itsy Mitsy, and Mitsy is not having any part of her "bed time." Not even a little bit! Elanna Allen tells this sweet story through her beautiful illustrations...it is funny how some of the smallest characters can be larger than life. You can't help but root for Mitsy as she learns that running away just might not be so easy!

This next one has been on more than one of my wishlists for a while now, and when I finally saw it on sale in the store...well, you know the rest!

Hooway for Wodney Wat by Helen Lester is such a great look at character and themes! I have wanted it forever, and guess who will be reading this to her kiddos very soon....THIS girl! 

This is just one more adorable character that you can't help but root for! I love that Rodney finds a way to persevere over the fact that he just cannot pronounce his R's like all the other rats. Everyone gets their comeuppance in the end...serves Camilla Capybara right! 

OK...last one for tonight...I promise!

I owe Dr. Ellis a big thank you for this last one...I must tell you that it was love at first sight!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Ribbit! by Rodrigo Folgueira! Holy Cow...I couldn't get my own copy in my hands quick enough LOL and when our bookstore stop proved unsuccessful in finding it...I promptly returned home and ordered it. It should be in my greedy little hands within the week...muahhh hahahaha....my version of an greedy evil laugh....not sure you find as much humor in that as I did, but I am still giggling.

Any..who....I must tell you about this precious story. Again, another awesome look at characters and common themes! I cannot say enough how much you will fall in love with this precious pink pig as he tries to win the hearts of a frog family that was firmly attached to their pond! In the end, the old wise beetle opens their eyes to the simple truth to their questions...who is he...what does he want?

The illustrations by Poly Bernatene are pure magic! I have spoke of him before in this previous post. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more of his amazing work!

Just look at those frogs...LOL

Oh my goodness....this is a ridiculously long post...so sorry but if you have made it to this point...well thanks for stickin' with me!

Happy Reading!

Setting goals and summer linky fun :)

Hello my sweet summer friends :)....are you just loving these beautiful summer days? I started to say lazy summer days, but in all honesty, I have hardly had time to be lazy. 

How about you?! 

I want to start today's post with a fun goal oriented linky from  I {heart} Recess. I hope this fun little linky party will keep me motivated this summer! Hope it's not too late to join!

Personal: Goal setting is NOT one of my strengths...so that is definitely a great place to start LOL...

Family: The last few years have been a crazy time in this house. One of my teenagers has been out in this big wide world for a little over a year now, and I miss her terribly! I have another teenager still at home, but with one foot out the door as he just committed to the US Marine Corp this week (more on that in a bit)...and with one more just-turned-16-year-old ready to conquer the world...well, I just don't think I am ready, even a little bit, to let them go! Thank goodness my 21 year old doesn't mind hanging around the house with his old mom once in a while. :)

Here is my brave Justin swearing in to the Marines...
extremely proud and hopelessly scared for him

My handsome 16 year old!
Love him :)

Health: Where do I even begin with this one...I did such an awesome job last year with our school's biggest loser just to turn around and gain so much of it back! Disappointed doesn't begin to describe it, but I am really focusing on getting back on track this summer! No big competitions...no mad rush to lose as much as I can as quickly as possible...just small steps to get where I need to be!

School: One of my fave things is working on my classroom library...nerd alert! I just can't help myself and this summer the changes are going to be epic! hahahahaha

These are the new/old shelves...new to my classroom
but old since they have been gathering dust in my garage.

Maintenance will be taking down the bulletin board
behind the shelves...

A fresh coat of paint and some additions yet to come...
on our way to adding some great new shelving to our class :)

Bulletin board gone and a fresh coat of paint!

Hahaha...found this on Pinterest...so true!

Blog: Wow...remember, biting off more than I can chew...well, keeping up with one picture book a day is a lot more work than I even imagined, but I am bound and determined to see this through!

Read: No explanation needed here...you should see my "to read" stacks...in my bedroom...on my dining room table...in my car....in my classroom...everywhere! LOL

Be sure to join this linky party and see what everyone else is up to!

I have been lucky to participate in our district's Summer Reading "Hot Spots!"

It is a library program promoting reading and having fun!  I get to read some of my favorite books ~ whoop whoop~ and make book recommendations to the neighborhood kiddos... HOW  FUN! 

I am a bit nervous about next week's hot spot since there will be a number of daycare kiddos there...LOL there IS a reason that I teach fourth...hahahaha! I just might need to be rescued!

Cabot's VERY COOL reading road trip!

I meant to post this a while back....

What a great group of friends and teachers :)

Crazy girls :)

Even though I am going to be working hard catch up on one picture book a day....LOL...I only have one to share today.

It is a true and sweet classic...

and how appropriate it is for my life and family goals right now. LOL...

Margaret Wise Brown read my heart when she wrote this one so many years ago! I've read it a number of times, and never has it hit closer to home.  This is a precious look at the love of family!

Happy Reading!