Field Trip(s) Recap!

Three field trips down, one more to go!

#1: Hiking with my 5th graders!

It was the perfect day, a bit humid, but not enough so that you would notice it in the woods. It poured the day before, so it was a tad slippery on the way down. The kids and I had a blast all day - and the view from the top was amazing! They could not get over how it looked, one of my students kept mentioning how it didn't even look real!!

#2: The Zoo with my 3rd graders!

Another beautiful day, warm and humidity free, just the way I like them! We saw so many awesome animals - unfortunately my camera died halfway through the trip. It showed that it was fully charged the night before but apparently it was lying. Lesson learned, always charge your camera before every field trip!

#3: The Science Center with my 1st graders!

This was the last trip of the week, it was supposed to rain but did not. Yay for that!! The deer and the bears were a bit antisocial, so we only got pictures of their backs. The river otters had a blast doing tricks for us and we loved watching them! I think the bobcat enjoyed having his picture taken, he kept sneaking by us again and again!

The zoo and science center were back to back last week so I was just a wee bit exhausted last weekend. I had so much fun on all of these trips! I must give photo credits to my students - not many  brought cameras so I let them use my Powershot. I thought it would be cool to see the trips from their perspective. I think they take better pictures than I do!

Tomorrow we are off to see a play and then we end our week with an all day field day. It will have been a very busy last two weeks but I have loved every minute of it!

What was your favorite field trip this year?

Nail Art - Neon Straw Circles

This is how my nails started the week on Monday. Please disregard the messy edge, my white polish has gotten wicked thick and when on really badly! Consequently this led to a lot of chipping. As in Tuesday afternoon and my nails were already chipped! I usually make it till Wednesday or Thursday without  a chip!

This led to me changing up my nails on Wednesday night. I contemplated taking it off and starting over but I was way to lazy! So I touched up the chipped spots with white and then ran a line of Sally Hansen Ink Splatter black crackle down the middle of each nail. I must say I adore how they came out! I may try this look intentionally next time!

Now back to how I got this look, I used Sally Hansen White On and China Glaze Poolside Collection, with the exception of the coral orange color. It never seems neon-y enough when I use it with the other colors.

I painted each nail will the dreadful thick white (soon to be replaced with Essie Blanc. No more thick nail polish for me!) Then I placed a few drops of neon polish on a paper plate. I used a straw, just the standard sized one you get when you order a soda, and dipped it in the color.

I like to blow lightly on the other end of the straw so I end up with outlined circles, not solids. Then I gently press down on my nails. Before I lift the straw I wiggle it in a circular motion, sort of like using stamps! I repeat these steps until I have covered most of my nail. Then I choose a new color and do it all over again!

These are so easy and fun and I love how the neon popped on the white!

What is new for you with nail wise? Any new shades that you are currently obsessed with? Let me know in the comments below!

Nail Art - Glitter with Straw Circles and Giveaway Winner!

I love making circles with straws. Seriously it may be the easiest and the most fun of all the nail arts I have tried!!

I decided to combine glitter with this look, at first I was only going to do a statement nail but then I opted for an alternating pattern.

I used Zoya Aurora for the glitter nails, L'Oreal Not a Cloud in Sight for the base of the circle nails and Essie No Place Like Chrome for the circle details.

To make the circles I put some silver polish on a plate. I use a straw, just a standard size, not too skinny or jumbo, and dip it in the polish. I like to tap it or blow into it lightly first - otherwise you may end up with a solid circle instead!! It is definitely a fast and fun manicure!

Last, but of course not least, I have a giveaway winner to announce. Congratulations to  Janine from Faithful in First! You are the winner of the Response to Tech Set, and I will be emailing you tonight!

What colors and designs are you wearing this week? Leave me a comment below!

Response To Tech Set

I always like to incorporate writing into our Intervention block whenever possible. My 3rd, 4th and 5th graders use Reading Plus for their Intervention program and my 1st graders use Raz-Kids.com.

Both of these programs are excellent and include a lot of reading and comprehension questions. All of my groups tend to finish their stories with 10 or 15 minutes to spare. I created these sheets for a post tech writing activity that is easy for me to assess everyday!

Each worksheet has two questions on it. I placed each question in its own box so it can be completed as a worksheet or cut into task cards. There are a total of 16 questions in this set.

I included gray scale versions of each sheet as well. I put these copies into our skill sheet pockets so whenever the kids are done with a Guided Reading they can grab a sheet to fill out.

This weekend I am going to print and laminate the colored task card versions so my students can use them at their tables. They love writing on these tables, but I have to make sure I have something educational they can work on, otherwise it can turn into a doodle fest!

This set is available in my TpT shop!

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend!!

DIY Silver Necklaces

I know I have mentioned in the past that I have a lot of jewelry, and it is true, I do. However I have found that I am lacking in the silver necklace department. I have two that I adore - a butterfly on illusion wire and some sterling birds on silver chain. They are lovely but definitely overused! I decided I needed a few more options. Off to Michaels I went!

First up we have the beads! I chose three larger pendants since I wanted to keep these necklaces simple chain-wise.

For the large flower with a mix of rhinestones, crystals and pearls I went with a black chain. I like how it allows the sterling silver to pop.  Please ignore the annoying pink hue that my camera loves to cast on my photos!!

Next we have the rounded square bead. I love this one! It looks like tinfoil blended with a rhinestone! Disregard the pink again, it is simply silver! Perhaps it is time to get a plain camera. Though I do adore my hot pink Powershot!! I used an antique silver chain for this one - I think it may be my favorite. I know it is the one I have been wearing the most lately!

Lastly is the silver circle with swarovski cyrstals. This one is so pretty and sparkly! I love how the crystals are rainbow colored! I chose a simple sterling silver chain for this one, I did not want to take away from the pretty pendant.

My favorite part about making these necklaces was how easy they were! I only needed 2 pairs of needle nose pliers, 2 sizes of jump rings and some lobster clasps!

Now I have 3 new necklaces that will go with just about anything and everything! I know they will be getting a lot of use!

What is your current jewelry obsession? Tell me about it in the comments below!!

Nail Art - Whirled Away with Teal!

I love China Glaze Whirled Away (affiliate link). It is such a fun glitter polish that looks great on any color. This time I used Sally Hansen Blizzard Blue for a base coat.

The only downside to this manicure was that it took a ton of coats to get this shade of blue. The blue is almost transparent unless you use three (or five) coats! This led to a little bit of bubbling when I applied my topcoat.

My students are always fascinated by this glitter, well after the discussion as to whether it is truly a glitter or not has ended. They take the word glitter VERY seriously and since it has no shine they concluded that it is not a glitter.

Glitter or not, it was a big hit with them and with me as usual! Now if only I can find a better teal to use as a base coat. I think it may be time to let this blue go, I do not have the patience for a polish that needs more than 2 coats!

What is on your fingers (or toes!) this week? And if you know of a fabulous (and not transparent) blues or teals let me know in the comments below!!

DIY Stress Balls

My 4th grade Intervention group that is full of angst by the time class roles around. They have a long morning schedule and then come to my room right after lunch and recess. We have squishy dinosaur someone left behind after a field trip which provides a lot of "relaxation" to those who need it. In fact he has been needed so much so that his neck and feet have suffered a bit! I really should take a picture of the sad dino!

Whenever I have been on Pinterest lately, (which is way to often!) I keep seeing stress balls that you can make yourself! I decided to give it a try as 1 dinosaur is not enough for my group of 12! I hopped over to Somewhat Simple's site to see how to create these!

All I needed was balloons and playdough so off I went to the Dollar Store! $2.00 later I was all set!

I am a bit impatient, so rather than rolling out the dough, I simply stretched the balloon as wide as I could and shoved in the ball of dough. I ended up with a lot of dough under my fingers and on the floor, but it worked! I decided to put a 2nd balloon over each, just in case my students are having a really bad day!

All together it took about 15 minutes which I thought was pretty good! I decided against drawing faces on them, partly because I am no kind of artist! Plus I am not sure if it would stay on the balloon that well. I wouldn't want my students to be walking around with melted smileys on their hands!

My students really enjoyed using these today - we had to rotate them throughout the room so everyone could have a chance! I am assuming the novelty will wear off soon, or else I will be head back to the Dollar Store to make a few more!

Hop on over to Tara's blog to see the rest of the Monday Made Its!

What do you use to help de-stress your class?

Built in Whiteboard Table Update

These are the original tables I made back in January in my classroom.

 

Kindergarten Bingo Pack

My class loves bingo games, at school during centers and at home for skill practice!

Glitter Dots and Glitter Gradient Nail Art

Glitter!! I adore all things sparkly and that has been evident on my nails lately! I have been seeing a lot of glitter dots on nails and I love how it looks! Glitter polish is gorgeous but horrendous to remove and this seemed like a better way to have the glitter without the hassle!

 
I painted my pinky and thumb with Sally Hansen Black Out and my index and middle fingers with China Glaze Platinum Silver (affiliate link). For my ring finger I used Sally Hansen Hot Magenta and China Glaze Pizzazz (affiliate link) for the dots.




Glitter Gradient - I have been wanting to this for a long time, but could not get the glitter to lessen along my nail no matter what I tried! Then I found the answer on Polishpedia! Anja said to tap loose glitter above the nail and gently blow the glitter down the nail.

Now being my messy self I tried this and got glitter everywhere. I seriously mean everywhere!! My bathroom counter was covered with lovely iridescent sparkles! Cleaning them up later was not so lovely. As I apparently cannot be gentle whilst blowing glitter, I decided to place the it  above my nail and then shake it down towards the sink. And it worked - with way less messiness too!

I used Nicole by OPI Virtuous Violet for the base and the iridescent loose glitter is from Michaels. Loose glitter removes way easier than glitter polish too, which is the best part! Now that I can finally do a gradient I know I will be rocking this look a lot!

I am in the hunt for some new spring shades! What colors are you wearing on your nails this week?