April Currently

April…already?!  I swear, the older I get…the quicker time seems to fly! I really need time to slow down…because I am NOT ready to turn 30 next year :(  Anyways, today I'm linking up with the fab. Farley for this month's Currently! 

Listening: Decided to leave the tv off this morning, so I won't get distracted! I have big plans of being productive today… Loving: That it is the weekend! I have so many things to get done, and there just isn't enough time during the weekdays. Thinking: About getting a head start on all the blog post ideas I have swirling in my head. Tons of new things coming in the near future…….and a surprise new-link up that will go live later this month ;)  Be sure to check back! You won't want to miss it!! Wanting: To do a house swap. I always see others post such beautiful photos on Instagram of the snow, countryside, city-living and everything else in between. This little island girl wants to experience it all. One day, I would LOVE love LOVe to do a house swap with someone!  I've only really been to the West coast…nowhere else :/  Needing: To get my office cleaned up and running. When I moved out of my classroom last school year, it became a storage space. It is so cluttered and I need to get it cleaned up so I can use it for a workspace. My poor husband has to deal with all my work stuff taking over the countertops and dining table #thestruggleisreal Whatever: Totally looking forward to our vacation to San Francisco and Napa at the ending of March.  For those of you who have been (or live there) where are your favorite places to eat and what wineries do you recommend?!  Head on over to link up with Farley and drop a line here! I'd love to head over and read your Currently!!  Aloha,

Printing on Sticky Notes!

Today I'm here to share with you an easy and practical tip that can be used in your classroom.

I love printing on sticky notes! It is so simple, versatile, and a major time saver!  Some of the ways that I use printed sticky notes are:
To send home notes or reminders to parents. To label paperwork with instructions. To provide a checklist for paperwork that needs to be filled out. Journal prompts. Rubrics. Cute notes to students or other teachers. Label my post-its with a signature from me (so others know who it's coming from when I send hand written notes).  The options of how to use printed sticky notes are truly endless! I love the simplicity of just peeling them off the paper, rather than having to cut each square out if you had just printed on paper. 

Step 1: You can download the template here. Step 2: Once you've printed the template on plain white paper, you will then add sticky notes to each square (as shown in photo above). 

Step 3: Now that you've printed the template out, you can add text boxes to each square {in Power Point} and type your message out.  Step 4: Printing. Once all of your notes are typed out, you will then insert your sticky note paper into your printer. The way my printer works, I stick my template in facing down. 

To save you some time, I have created this product that includes 39 ready to print notes for 3x3 post-it notes. You can find that here.

How do you use sticky notes in your classroom? 

Tech Tip Tuesday-Save Time w/Google Drive

Hi, Friends. It sure has been awhile, but I am back today to share another tech tip. Way back in November, I wrote my very first tech tip post. I had planned to post these tips monthly, but life happened. 

We all know that teachers are B.U.S.Y! We have so much on our plates and sometimes it is hard to keep up. So today, I am here to share with you about how you can save A LOT of valuable time using Google Drive, specifically Google Docs. 

When you are in Google Docs, under the Tools tab you can select Voice Typing. This Voice Typing feature is AMAZING. As I'm sure we've all experienced from using voice typing on our cell phones, it isn't always the most accurate. What I love about this voice typing feature is that it will self correct what it originally wrote based off of context.  Don't get me wrong. It isn't always 100% accurate, but it is waaay faster to talk out what needs to be typed, than me sitting there and typing it all. It only takes a few seconds for me to go back and fix any errors, if there were even any! 
To access this feature, you will go to Tools and select Voice Typing from your dropdown menu. A little microphone will pop up. You will need to click on that microphone (and allow access to your mic) and begin speaking. It's pretty easy to use, but if you'd like a more in-depth tutorial on how to use Voice Typing, you can check out this tutorial from Google.

Here is a quick video of voice typing in action. (Please don't mind the horrible quality of my recording) lol.  Another way that voice typing could be utilized to help you (and your students) is that they could type their papers using voice typing. I know, I know..it IS important for our kids to learn how to type and that they get the practice. But let's face it. Sometimes we are in a time crunch- and sometimes it may take a certain kiddo 2 hours to type a paragraph or two. #Aintnobodygottimeforthat  Another great way to utilize voice typing is if a student needs an accommodation. Sometimes our poor little kiddos come with a broken arm or hand, and cannot write. Typing is usually an accommodation, but finger pecking takes forever. Now-we can make life easier for them with this great feature! Voice Typing is an easy way to get it all done, in a short amount of time.  I was working on creating this checklist document so I could see which standards were taught in what quarter. It took me FOREVER to get down the Language standards. Then it hit me. I could use voice typing. I finished the rest of this document in 15 minutes, as opposed to a few hours typing.  Aloha!

February Currently!

Happy February, Friends!

It's been awhile but I am back for my first Currently of the year. Head on over to check it out and link up with the fabulous Farley. 

Listening:

To Jane the Virgin. I absolutely love this show..but surprisingly-this is the first time I've ever watched it  while being shown live on the TV. I'm a total binge watch on Hulu/Netflix kinda gal :P 

Loving:

 The way I feel.

 I've always been a pretty active girl my whole life…but things changed when I started teaching. I put all of my time into planning, prepping, grading, creating (I'm sure you can all relate)…that I left no time for myself. I'm a bit ashamed to say it, but I've gained 20 lbs. since I've started teaching. I never had time to work out and I LOVE to eat (which is partially the problem, too). 

This year I decided that I am going to MAKE time to work out and eat healthy. I only have one body and I need to take care of it. I've been working out and eating clean and I am LOVING the way that I feel. I still have a long way to go before I achieve my goals..but can't wait to continue on this journey for me!

Thinking: Of tackling my to-do lists. I get home at around 5ish every day. By the time I'm doing with my workouts it's almost 6:30. My hubs and I eat dinner, clean up, then I prep my meals for the following day. I usually shower, then head to bed.  Although I feel great, I really haven't been getting much done during the week. I am going to set aside an extra 20 minutes every day (even if I need to stay up a little later or give up my before bed Instagram time) to work on one thing that has been sitting on my to-do list. 
Wanting: More time in a day. See above ;) 
Needing: A massage! With all of the working out I've been doing, my body is sore (in a good way). It would feel oh so good to get a massage. I am one lucky girl because the hubs bought me a gift certificate to the spa at Aulani. This spa is to die for! 

Aulani is the Disney Resort on the island of O'ahu.  

This is where you can go before and after your spa treatment to relax and rejuvenate. 

I can't wait to go. I'm heading there in a few weeks with one of my girlfriends.

Swooning:

Over my hubby. Every single day I fall more in love with this guy. He is the most supportive and encouraging person in helping me to achieve my goals and aspirations. In order for me to workout, he prepares dinner every night, does the dishes, and does most of the housework so that I can find time on the weekend to create. I am definitely a lucky girl :) 

What are you currently up to? Be sure to head on over and link up with Farley!

Digital Holiday Story Books

Today I'm here to share with you a favorite holiday project in my classroom. During the holidays, it's really difficult to keep the kids engaged/focused…but this project is always a hit! Kids beg to work on it -- and are dead silent and hard at work while doing so.  Here's a sample of a completed project! To begin, students worked with a partner to fill out their story map. 

They brainstormed ideas and had to come to an agreement before filling out their story map. From there, they went on to the actual writing of their stories. The kids knew what their end product would be--so while they work on their writing, they are also planning out which sentences will go on what page. Students were so excited about this part and couldn't wait to get into the lab! 

Click here to download the story map. Once students were done with the writing, we went into the lab so they could begin creating their digital story books. For this project, we used the program Pixie.  This is an awesome program because students were able to link up computer screens with their partners--so that they could both work on the illustrations at the same time. There are also many different clip art pieces the kids can use.

It took awhile for the kids to learn to work together on this program. Since most of them chose to work on the same page at the same time, they would often go and change out little images their partner had placed…or change the color of the text, etc. After awhile though, they figured out how to work together to compromise. 

Since we could only work on this program in the computer lab, and that we had a limited number of days to work on it, this was incentive enough to get the kids to not argue and finish up their work in the given amount of time. 

During the last week of school, we popped popcorn and watched all of the holiday movies! The kiddos LOVED it. Here's one more: This was a great activity to do to keep the kids engaged during the holidays, but really, this could be enjoyed at any time throughout the year!  I'd love to know if you end up doing this with your kiddos :)  Happy Teaching!

Tech Tip Tuesday

At my school, we have an awesome technology coordinator that is in the know of all new and cool technology programs out on the market. She even has a ton of tech tips up her sleeve that she is always willing to teach others about. 
She started an awesome technology PD opportunity for all faculty on campus. I like to call it "PD on the Potty" but it's real name is "Learning on the Loo".  
Each month, our tech coordinator will go around campus to every bathroom that is used by faculty members. She will place a learning sheet on the wall, directly across the toilet. :) 
It cracks me up because the tag line is…Face it, there's nothing else to distract you. 
I love all of her monthly tips that she shares because they are always super helpful, and are also usually things that I hadn't heard of, done, or tried before. 
Today's tip is all about how to narrow your internet searches.

I had no idea that searching without quotations meant that you are searching each word separately! 

That's it for today. Aloha!

November Currently!

Happy November!
Today I'm here again to link up with Farley for November's Currently! Let's go!

Listening:

The AC. The weather has been so muggy lately that I've been having to run the air all day and all night. 

Hence, my wanting for the weather to cool down ;) 

Loving:

Just like Farley, I am stoked that Halloween is over. I'm not too big of a Halloween person, and look forward to it being done so that I can get ready for Christmas!! Now that it's officially November…I am just itching to decorate for Christmas!! 
We will be away for the hubby's 30th B-day Celebration over the Thanksgiving weekend. When we get back, it'll already be December and our first weekend is already busy…so I'll be needing to decorate the house before we leave, so it's ready for us when we get back! Can't wait!
Thinking: I just ordered a Silhouette Cameo and am thinking about all of the Holiday DIY projects I have on my to-do list. I just love crafting during this time of year! I've been planning them since the start of October ;)
Wanting: The weather to cool down. Granted the weather only reaches the low 70s (midday), that's pretty cool for us here in Hawaii…but I want to start dressing in cute warm clothes :)
Needing: To get to work!  I've put my work list off all day yesterday…I will get work done today….. I hope. :/
Yummy: I LOVE my mom's homemade stuffing. I mix it in with mashed potatoes. That is my favorite part of our Thanksgiving meals. I could totally go without the turkey..and just eat stuffing and mashed potatoes! I'm so sad though because I missed Thanksgiving last year and will miss it again this year due to being away on Vacation. :/ Maybe I can get her to cook it before I leave ;) 
Be sure to head over and link up with Farley. I'd love to see what you're Currently up to!