Up for purchase in my TpT store...Choice boards! #mondaymadeit

Friends, I have created another item that is available for purchase in my store! Say hello to CHOICE BOARDS! I'm linking up with 4th Grade Frolics to share my work with you :) Don't forget to check out her page to see what everyone else is making! 

I used choice boards just last week with my 2nd graders. I was asked to review them on math concepts we've been working on the past 1-2 weeks. Here's a semi-quick summary of what I did to incorporate choice boards into the math review/practice time: 

1. My cooperating teacher and I chose a few specific areas our kids needed to practice on: money (counting bills and coins), odds and evens, addition number stories, calendar, and math facts. 
2. Then, we picked out some activities that aligned with each concept and sorted them into centers (the choice boards have 9 spaces, so I gave each center a number 1-9. Some of these were repeats because I wanted to make sure that all the kids HAD to cover certain concepts, like money, no matter where they drew their line). 
3. I gave each kiddo a choice board and explained to them that they needed to make a "Tic-Tac-Toe...3 in a row" on their choice board. I showed them how to choose 3 activities in a row and went over EVERY center with them. This was time consuming! However, I knew that lots of explanation would ensure that my friends would feel comfortable using the choice boards. 
4. Finally, we got started! The center activities were short and simple, so I gave the students 10 minutes to work. We rotated 3 times, so the kiddos were working a total of 30 minutes. You can lengthen or shorten this as you need to and depending on what you're doing, this is just what worked for us that day! 

Choice boards are COMPLETELY customizable, depending on what you want your learners to be doing and what subject/area you're targeting. That's one reason I love them---they can be used for almost anything :) 

Swing by my store to get your own EDITABLE choice boards...I'll love you forever! 

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Editable-Choice-Boards-1473205

Thanks for the continued support! Y'all are amazing! 

Hilary 

Five for Friday!

My first Five For Friday linky post! Woo hoo! 

Here are my five random things!

1. My boyfriend is coming to town to visit for the weekend and I'm so excited :) We have plans to hang with my family Saturday and spend our spare time watching some movies...we both need some R&R! 

   

   This pic is an oldie goldie! I am one lucky girl :) 
2. This week in my student teaching classroom, we had our 2nd graders write a creative story. It could be about anything they wanted, as long as they wrote it with a good beginning, middle, and end. One of my sweet girls wrote a story about "Bayrs" (Oklahoma for ya!). Here is a snap from one of my favorite pages she wrote!

   

   "Oh no, for pitti sakes!" Ha! :)

3. I feel so spoiled by the people I get to work with every day. My mentor teacher is absolutely amazing and I learn so much from her all the time! Plus, she is so fun to be around and I love her to pieces! 

   

   Steph, you are such an inspiration to me! 

4. I am currently LOVING to watch Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team on CMT. It is so entertaining and I don't know why, but I can't ever stop watching! 
5. I can't believe I survived this week. I think I'm developing early onset of carpal tunnel from grading so many papers! I am ready to REST! 

Have a fabulous weekend, everyone!

Hilary 

BIG NEWS...I have a TpT store!!!

Y'all...I just took a giant leap of faith and created my very own store on Teachers Pay Teachers! I have been wanting to do this for a while now but just never felt like I could actually make it happen. Well, I am happy to announce that my store is up and running with a couple new products! 

Featured on my store: 

• Printable bathroom tickets (a FREEBIE) 
  
• Ice Cream Contractions matching activity (yes, I made my #tbt post a reality and I'm PUMPED!) 

         

I would love it if you would stop by my store to check it out!

I can't wait to see where this new little hobby takes me, and I can only hope that the things I create will help someone else!

-Hilary  

Currently!

Happy Labor Day! It is so nice to have a day off to relax, isn't it? 

I'm linking up with Farley today for my first Currently post! Yahoo! :) 

Listening: I have been listening to Cee Lo Green's album, The Ladykiller! It's a bit of an oldie but a goodie. All the music is so upbeat and fun to jam in your car to. My favorite song on the album is called "It's OK" and I first heard it on the movie Bride Wars! 

Loving: Labor Day weekend...can I just say that 3-day weekends are a gift from God?! This has been a much needed break for me! This weekend I have gotten to spend time with my family, boyfriend, and friends...AND catch up on my sleep! 

Thinking: Time to clean! My normal Sunday clean routine has been cut + pasted to today. I tackled some of my scary laundry pile, but my room is still begging to be dusted! 

Wanting: Come back, Jordan! My boyfriend and I do the long-distance thing, and let me tell you, it's hard to go weeks without seeing each other! He came to town for a visit this weekend and we had a blast. We spent our time visiting my family, seeing the Ninja Turtles movie (it was really good!), going to church, cooking, and I even got him to hang up some new shelves in my room. He's a keeper :) He left for home earlier today and I already miss him!

Needing: I need to get started on my lesson plans! My cooperating teacher asked me to take over teaching Language Arts this week...yay! I have some materials to work with already, but I need to get some things organized. Student teaching is the best! 

3 Trips: Turks & Caicos, Italy, and Hawaii. Need I say more? I love to travel and these babies have been on my to-go list for quite some time :) 

Alrighty, I'm off to make some lunch! Go check out Farley's blog to check out what everyone else is up to!