You like me, you really like me!

The liebster award came knocking on my blog door 3 times this week and this is how it made me feel.

A huge thank you to the following bloggers for nominating me! 

1. Mrs. Whitehead from Thoughts from Third Grade
2. Nick from Sweet Rhyme & Pure Reason
3. Ms. Choi from Live, Love, Laugh, and Learn in Third Grade

This award is fun way to check out and meet new bloggers. In return I have also nominated 3 blogs for the Liebster Award. And the nominees are...

1. Kelli Love from LoveN3rdGrade
2. Katie O from Kdot's Learning Spot
3. Emily and Kerry from Third and Goal

I also created a Liebster Award badge, please feel free to use it if you'd like. (located at the top of this post)

In order to accept the nomination, I must: 

1. Link back the blogs that nominated me
2. Nominate 3-5 blogs with fewer than 200 followers
3. Answer the questions posted by the nominators
4. Share 11 random facts about myself 
5. Create 11 questions for my nominees
6. Contact my nominees and let them know I have nominated them

My 11 Questions and Answers

1. Why do you blog?

I blog because it connects me to other educators outside of my regular teaching bubble. 

2. How many schools have you taught at?

Only one school! This year is going to be my third year in the classroom!

3. What's your favorite grade to teach?

I've taught 1st grade and 3rd grade. 3rd grade has won my heart. 

4. What piece of advice do you give out the most?

I still have a lot to learn but there is one piece of wisdom I share and it's "go read some blogs!" Haha

Nothing inspires and motivates me more than simply reading what other educators are doing in their classroom.

5. If you could have 1 super power, what would it be?

I would want the ability to clone myself. Then the clones could handle all the mundane tasks of life and the real me can enjoy the good stuff! 

6. What are your reading this summer? 

Teach Like a Pirate, Daily 5, CAFE, and The One and Only Ivan

7. What's going through your mind on your very first morning as a teacher with a class full of kids?

A lot of pep talks with myself and "woo-hoos" of excitement. 

   

8. Where would you go on your dream vacation?

Outer Space, wouldn't that be sweet?!

9. How do you unwind after school?

I sit around with other teachers in a classroom, talk about our day, give advice, and laugh

10. What's your favorite teachery school supply to buy every year?

post-its and teacher planner

11. What is the funniest thing you've caught a student saying?

During my time in 1st grade one of my students innocently came up to me and said "Mr. G, what does (it rhymes with skit) mean?" and stared at me waiting for an answer. I contained my laughter and explained to the student that "it" was a boring word that she should never use. That's the best I could come up with!  I just wanted the entire situation and word to go away! I had a good laugh with the student's parent that afternoon. Oh first grade, what a year that was. 

My 11 Random Facts

1. As a child I would drink pickle juice from the jar
2. I'm super optimistic 
3. I am a proud cancer survivor (had non-hodgkin's lymphoma when I was 18. Went into remission when I was 21)
4. I am the oldest of 3 brothers
5. I sometimes wish Santa Claus was real
6. I love horror movies but hate going into haunted houses during halloween
7. Ice cream is my kryptonite
8. The first CD I ever purchased was in 4th grade and it was the Dangerous Minds soundtrack. Little Mr. G thought the Coolio song was awesome.  
9. I own a personal laminator (friends tease me about this one but we all know they're jealous)
10. I was nominated Texas Education Intern of the Year during my last year in college and missed the deadline for the application because I was wrapped up in completing my portfolio. This make me laugh and slightly sad. haha
11. I've never broken a bone (fingers crossed)

11 questions for the nominees

1. Why do you blog?
2. What is your favorite book for a read aloud?
3. Are you a good dancer?
4. Do you have a favorite teacher/education website?
5. What are you most excited about for the new school year?
6. What subject do you love to teach the most?
7. How do you handle a tough day on the education field?
8. Which holiday break is your favorite?
9. Which is better... pens or pencils?
10. Favorite type of music?
11. Favorite piece of advice to share with educators? 

Hope you all enjoyed getting to read a little bit about me. Be sure to check out the other blogs mentioned in this post and read their answers and random facts! Until next time...

Ready to Dance?

Ladies and gentleman it happened...I won a blogglovin giveaway! I was thrilled when my new friend (a fellow Houston blogger) Diane from Teaching with Moxie contacted me to let know I had won the giveaway. Suddenly I was $20 TPT richer and had an awesome product from Diane's TPT store in my inbox! I am so thankful to have been part of an awesome giveaway. Thank you Diane for giving me a reason to dance!

Now I am not here to simply brag on how lucky I am. I am here because I want to give you a reason to dance! The super cool Kelly from Koonce's Korner has hit 100 followers and she has giveaway so big that I guarantee you'll bust a move! Click on the picture below, follow Kelly's blog, and enter for a chance to win $80 worth of products and gift cards! The winner will be announced Monday, July 15!

Wednesday link up!

This link up  from Third Grade Galore and Digital Divide and Conquer is  just what I needed to write out my Wednesday thoughts. 

My Win

Check out my new blog design by Megan from A Bird in Hand Designs. It's awesome! I cannot thank her enough for listening to what I wanted and making it come to life. Thank you Megan!

My Loss

My car has been dirty for a month now. I keep telling myself I am going to take it in for a wash but I haven't. Poor baby, I will show it some love soon. This image is from google search, I assure you my car isn't this dirty but it feels like it is. 

My Cost

"Arrrg"... I have started some of my summer reading today with Dave Burgess' Teach Like A Pirate. I first heard about this book on instagram during Teacher Talk Tuesday. #teachertalktuesday 

Side bar: I love instagram. It's a lot fun getting to see quick glimpses into teachers daily routine through images. 

A teacher posted that she had started reading the book and was getting inspired for the new school year.  The title alone had me intrigued. After doing some research I knew this was a book I wanted to read and purchased a copy on Amazon. So far the book has been really entertaining and helping me focus on what I want from this new school year. I look forward to reading more and sharing my thoughts. Have an awesome Wednesday everyone.

Until next time...

Blogger Meet Ups are Electrifying!

I attended the Houston blogger meet up this past weekend and it was an awesome afternoon. It's a lot fun getting to talk to other educators about their experience in the teaching world and the things they do in the human world too. haha.

Check out the picture and links below of all bloggers that were able to attend.

Diane @ Teaching With Moxie

Megan @ I Teach. What's Your Superpower?
Barbara @ The Corner on Character
Kristin @ TeachnTex
Jennifer @ Teaching and Laughing
Kelly @ Koonce's Korner
Sandi @ Fearless in 5th
Lindsay @ My Life as a Third Grade Teacher

A huge THANK YOU to Diane and Megan for hosting this great event.
If you are a blogger from the Houston area, head on over to the new Houston Blogger facebook fan page.  Be sure to "like" the Houston Blogger page and also check out more pictures from this weekends meet up.

I ended my Saturday with my family at the Electric Run! This was the first time this run has come to Houston and it is great experience. This is a 5k night time run/walk, a light show, and a dance party. I would definitely check this if it ever comes to a city near you. Visit the Electric Run website for more details    

Until next time...

Vacation, teacher stuff, and TV shows... Oh My!

Here is the truth about me, if I let myself I would be on teacher mode 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. There is nothing like the excitement of thinking, creating, and reading.  Though I still need to be part of the human world and that's what summer allows me to do! Once July begins, I am going back into teacher mode with full force.

This summer I went back to NYC, spent some days in D. C. and finished off my vacation in Las Vegas! The vacation was awesome.

My mom, brother, and I posing on a rainy day in NYC. 

I also wanted to share this picture I took of my cousin in the NYC public library. 

There was a huge wall of these small flyers in the library. The point of the flyers is to write down the book you're currently reading and post it to the wall. Readers are also encouraged to use social media to share their flyer with the hashtag #NYPLReads. I think this is so rad. 

*Teacher Idea*-I'm thinking of ways to use this book sharing in my classroom and school... but not until July. :)

Something I love to do on my summer vacation is TV show binge watching. I know it sounds crazy but there is nothing like devoting a good chunk of your day to watch a good show. So far this is what I have seen...

Orphan Black- This show rocked my world. Watch all 10 episodes of the first season in 1 weekend!

It tells the story of a woman who discovers there are clones of herself living all around the world and someone is trying to kill them off. I know the description sounds very sci-fi but this show is a genre bender. It's a drama, a comedy  a thriller, it's simply a must see. Not just for the story but also the lead actress Tatiana Maslany! She plays so many different characters that it makes you believe there has to be more than one of her. It is a brilliant performance by this actress. 

Game of Thrones- I have had friends telling me I needed to start watching this show a long time ago. I never gave it a chance because I am not one who enjoys dungeons and dragons. This show is so much more! It is very much character driven and very captivating. I am currently finishing up the first season and cannot wait to watch some more.

Please share any book or TV show suggestions with me in the comments! 

Hope you enjoyed my rant and most importantly I hope you're enjoying you summer. 

Valentine's Day was a success!

Happy Valentine's Day! I just wanted to post some fun activities we did to celebrate the day of love!

In science, we are currently studying soil and there is no better way to learn than with food! So part of our "sweet" day was spent creating the different layers of soil inside of a cup.  While the students worked on their soil cups they also illustrated and labeled their own drawing of soil inside of their science notebooks. 

We also did a lot of fun writing activities from my Be My Valentine packet. It was a lot of fun talking about the history of the holiday and also having the students share their own definition of love. 

We also played Tell Me Something Good 

The students had a blast walking around the room and sharing positive messages with each other  They were so proud of their page after everyone signed. It was a lot of fun! 
Check out my heart page below.

(download it free by clicking here!) 

Then there was this bag. Can we say "mustache-tic". 

Hope you all enjoyed this brief post. There was so much going on that day that I did not get to take all the photos I wanted. I will get better at that. Hope you all had a great Valentine's Day! 

Teaching 3rd with Mr G. The Brain Board

Hola everyone! I just wanted to make a quick post and share my Brain Board. As you know, I am still fresh in the game of teaching and many of my activities are inspired by other teachers and teacher blogs. 

This inspiration comes from Hope King at 2nd Grade Shenanigans. 

Located on the board are Hope's monthly activity centers. 

This one is named

Love Me Tender 

(Click on link to check out the unit!)

I have been using these centers since the beginning of the school year and have been changing them out with every season/month.

All you do is laminate file folders with the activity cover pages, print activity sheets, prepare student cards, and you are set. 

These centers have been a PERFECT addition to my regular math centers and instruction. How? 

Let me count the ways...

1. These start off as different blank activity pages and the students create their own numbers for each activity. So their numbers are rarely the same.

2. The activity sheets come at different levels. So differentiated instruction is a breeze. Students who have mastered the objective can challenge themselves while those who need extra practice can work on basic review.

3. I sometimes pull these centers and use them in small group to review different objectives. They are always there and ready for me to use.

4. This is a dream for a male teacher, I never have to decorate for the different holidays because the Brain Board does it automatically for me. Haha

5. These centers are perfect for the inevitable early finishers. No math time is ever lost. I know sometime we get used to allowing independent reading when work is complete. With these centers, students continue keeping their math skills fresh.

6. These activities can be used in so many ways. 

For example, I can ask the students to create different equations without the solution and have other students solve the student created activity sheets. There is so much you can do with these centers. 

7. The Brain Board is perfect practice. When I go over student data, these centers are great starters for spiraling and reteaching. 

8. If you have not realized how much I loved these centers by now, I am just going to say it. I love them. 

Yes, thats an inflatable brain on the top of the board. :)

Check out how Hope uses her centers by clicking here.

Last thing, I just wanted to show off my filing cabinet in case you are looking for a quick way to brighten up your big box of files. 

All I did was add some removable wall stickers to the sides of the cabinet and BOOM, it has become a nice eye candy for the wondering eye. These stickers have become a hot topic in almost all of my students free writing journal entries. 

So it is serving a purpose other than looking cool. 

These old school video game stickers were purchased at Ikea. 

Hope everyone has a great week!