Five for Friday

Happy Fri-yay! I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to share five highlights from the week! Be sure to check it out and link up yourself to share your week :)

Dog walking!

Since summer break has started I've been thinking of ways to make extra money this summer. I recently made a profile on care.com to be a pet sitter! I have already done several jobs through the site and have watched adorable dogs, chickens, and gotten lots of steps in on the fitbit while dog walking! I blogged about this and other ways to make summer cash that you can check out here!

Science resources- getting my nerd on! 

I've really been buckling down and working on my science units. I already have a heat transfer unit available in my TPT store, but next on my lists are forces and motion, then eco systems. I'd love to get all of our science units done this summer with a "unit at a glance" page so we're ready to go! We'll see if I can keep the momentum going :) So be on the lookout for those if you're a 3rd or 4th grade science teacher!

So many pictures to take!

I've been playing around with my mother-in-laws Nikon D70 and it's the first DSLR camera I've ever used. I love how sharp these pictures turn out and the pop of color! I'm not used to seeing quality photos since my iphone has done the trick up till now :) I took the plunge and ordered the Nikon D3300 and should have it by next week! YAY!

National Board Certification

I'm all about taking plunges this week.. as I'm going to sign up and become a National Boards Candidate this year! I was eligible last year as a fourth year teacher, but was in a new grade level and new school. I believe this year is the year! EEK! Of course I've already made a binder.. I love a good binder.

Farm Update! Hot mess will pop any moment now!

I'm patiently waiting for my goat Hot Mess to have her baby. She is due Saturday, but I've been watching her like a hawk! We have a security camera set up in her pen and an intercom so we can hear her and monitor from the house. I can also talk back to her! Naturally in preparation for this big day I did a maternity shoot with the DSLR camera.. I know.. I really need to be back in school already so I stay busy LOL!

OK time for me to get back to those units before my girl goes into labor! Once there's baby goats here I know I won't be productive. Be sure to link up and share your week!

Rock on,

Diana

Summer Gigs for Teachers

OK so I know us teachers should be floating in a pool of all our money but lets be real.. Summers can be tough without that check coming in and it's the time to take a vacation and treat yo self! So I found myself thinking of ways to make some extra money. However, it's not as easy as putting in applications around town- because if you're like me, you only want something until mid-August. I've come up with some ideas and would love to share them with anyone else looking for some ways to make money this summer with minimum commitment! If you love dogs this is a bonus because there's ways to play with puppies and make money!!

1. Sit

Don't you wish you could sit and rake in the dough?! HA! Well you can do some sitting and do pretty well for yourself. Babysitting, pet sitting, and house sitting are all great ways to make some extra income this summer and they do not require large time commitments. You also control your schedule and when you're available. A great website that I like to use is care.com. You can sign up on here and make a profile for all kinds of care including the ones I mentioned but also senior care and house keeping. I absolutely love animals so I made one for pet sitting and it has been a blast! Since signing up in the beginning of June I've gotten 4 petsitting jobs, two of which lasted 2-3 weeks. Care.com is great because it's free to sign up and free for the people looking for sitters. You also set your rate and can either be paid directly or through the site.

2. Seasonal Jobs

Great part time jobs for teachers are employers that need people just for the summer months. Pools, summer camps, amusement parks/water parks, tanning beds, ice cream shops, and anything specializing in swimming, hot weather, or kids. I know lots of summer camps reach out to the school employees first to find counselors because hey.. we kinda know what we're doing. Also a local parks and rec department could probably help out with other sports camps and things of the like going on in your area. The other jobs such as the pool as a lifeguard (usually requires training/certifications), parks, tanning beds and ice cream shops probably have a regular staff but could use someone for the busier months. Since you'd be a temporary employee definitely harp on the fact that you're a fast learner! They do not want to spend forever training someone who will be gone in 3 months. These are great though and usually have pretty consistent hours!

3. Teacher Supply Store

Come on.. how great would it be to know when things go on sale, have an employee discount, and be surrounded by school supplies!!! You're already pretty qualified for the job seeing as you know the products and brands. If you have any cashier experience then I'd say you've got a good shot at getting a job like this! Knowing me, if I started working at our teacher supply store I would probably continue into the year working weekends and it would get dangerous.. hmm... I may see if they're hiring... :)

4. BLOG or TPT!

I have loved blogging and making things for TPT! If you've ever thought about it but don't know how to start send me an email or leave a comment, I'd love to help you get started! It's been a lot of fun and through ads, affiliate links, and sponsors you can make some money. This would not be as quick as the others, but definitely worth it! TPT is also a great way to share your work and resources to help other teachers but also support your efforts! This takes a little start up costs for clip art and fonts, but then you're good to make resources and turn a profit. There's quite a few blogs and tips out there for stating, but I would also love to help you start out!

There you have it folks. Hope you find these ideas helpful and you can make some extra cash this summer! Please share any other ideas for summer jobs for teachers!

Work hard, play hard ;)

Diana

Five for Friday- Summer break style!

Hey there! I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for Five for Friday. Last week was full of work days for me, and this week was the first full week of Summer break! I know some folks are still going- stay strong!

LOL! My plans this weekend, and really all week have been to switch from one pair of sweatpants to the next :)

My super clean classroom in June?! Say what?!

I did change out of sweat pants one day to come and move things back into my classroom. Mine was the first to get cleaned and waxed! I was so pumped to semi-set up that way if I need to work in the classroom at all, I don't feel the stress of rifling through boxes or not knowing where something is! This makes me very happy :)

Also in the spirit of being super duper prepared I picked up a fresh lily planner and marked some of the dates for next year. I love a good planner and am struggling with wanting to fill it up yet only wanting to Netflix binge (Orange is the New Black season 4 came out today y'all!)

I am so very lucky that my mother in law is letting me borrow her camera to try out a DSLR! I'm getting artsy fartsy over here! I'm planning some crafts to blog for "Monday Made It" and would love to take nice pics of them! I guess we'll see Monday :)

Farm update!!

The beautiful "Hot Mess" is expecting her babies next week! I can hardly contain my excitement! I will probably use the "new" camera to do a maternity shoot... Don't laugh at me!

In the mean time, while I just hang out watching her so I don't miss the miracle of life, I've tended to the garden a bit more and picked the first zucchini! My husband was a fan of the zucchini bread, and really the fact that I can spend much more time cooking in the summer haha!

That pretty much sums up the first official week of Summer break! Hope everyone's doing well and be sure to link up and share your week!

Rock on,

Diana

Five for Friday

Happy Friday! Today is our last day of school! I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching to share our last week of the 2015-2016 school year :)

Human Body Models

After working all week on their research and life size human body model, students finished the final project and our classroom looked just a little creepy for a couple of days LOL. We used Kikis Classroom bundle for the human body with life size organs they can color and attach like a flap, so the organs name and purpose is under the flap. They were so fun!

Teach the teacher Day

For the last week of school I love to share with my students that since they have been such good learners, now they get to be the teacher! It's awesome to see all of my students' talents and interests shine! I shared more about this on my post from yesterday, you can check it out here.

Fiesta!!

While celebrating each others talents this week we also got to celebrate our backgrounds as one students Cuban grandma came in and taught us about Spanish! It was such a treat and the students loved hearing how school was for her. 

You've worked hard all year, have a ball this summer!

I can't believe I'll be handing out these goodies today for the LAST DAY! I'm going to miss this super group of kids!! 

Farm Update!

I have a feeling that with summer here I'll be working a lot more with the farm! Here's a recipe for coffee and cinnamon goat milk soap I tried this week! It smells like breakfast :) I'll be trying honey oatmeal this weekend- fingers crossed its not a mess!

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!

Rock on,

Diana

Teach the Teacher Day

"Teach the Teacher Day" is my favorite end of year activity! The last week of school can often be hectic and you're not in your usual routine. The kiddos are excited for summer, the weather is nice, testing is over, and you're saying your goodbyes.

Lesson Planning

At this point in the year I tell my students that they have been excellent learners that were always doing their best, following rules, participating in our activities and have had a GREAT attitude all year through! But, they have a lot of talents that I do not have, and it's time to turn the table and have THEM be the teacher and ME be the student! Yeah!!

I got this awesome lesson plan and rubric for free on TPT from "More than a Worksheet". Check it out here!

I start off by letting them know what they're getting themselves into- what does a teacher really have to do when they teach a lesson? They have to write a plan, with procedures lined out, materials planned and prepared, and a quiz question to see if their students have learned what they need to after the lesson. They also need to engage their student- and sometimes I can space out so I need them to speak clearly, look at me while they teach, and maybe have me try things out so I'm not sitting so long!

Now that they know how it's going to go down, they have to pick their topic. We made graphic organizers of ideas and things we're good at. They talked with partners to get more ideas. We then talked about how feasible their lesson is- will it work in the classroom or outside? Some wanted to teach how to ride a bike but they probably couldn't bring their bike to school, so they discussed with their partners if they really could teach the lesson they had picked out.

Now the planning! Wow! I have never had such a quiet room as my students buckled down with pencils scratching paper feverishly! I put out construction paper, glue, scissors, stickers, poster board, markers, anything to craft with. They went to town making visual aids and "how-to" posters. I also let them practice their lesson either with a partner, or have them set up a tablet to video record them. It was definitely helpful for them to watch themselves to see their posture, eye contact, and to see if they're speaking loud enough.

Time to teach!

After a day or 2 of preparing and practice, the kiddos are ready to teach me! To have all of your students teach their lesson it may take a couple of days. I teach two blocks, so in a 2 hour period we had 10-12 do their lesson each day.

I had so much fun learning about animals, drawing lots of different things, doing a tap dance, learning about fishing and the parts of the fishing pole, how to pass a soccer ball and Greek mythology! WOW! You'll be amazed by all of the different talents and interests within your classroom. It's a wonderful way to end your year!

Rock on,

Diana