5 for ?...Will it be Fraturday or Frunday?..yep Frunday...weekends go by too fast!

Well, we shall see how this post goes...lots of thoughts flying through my head & I think that there may be some cross over between the numbers below...

The A.MA.ZING of TpT {Teachers Pay Teachers}...
Erin Cobb of I'm Loving Lit is TpT's newest millionaire, yes MILLIONAIRE!!  So exciting that there is now an opportunity for teachers to share their creations with others and touch so many lives in a positive way.  I am so excited for her and the others who have had such great success!  

I was excited to share this information with my students, because they know of Ms. Cobb ...one of our 6th grade teachers loves Erin's stuff & uses it constantly...when I was challenged with how to present a concept/skill that we had not taught in third grade before this year, I went to my fellow teacher & sought her advice...she said, "Erin explains it this way..." ...I took that explanation & added to it a bit...I wanted to create a product that included this idea but I wasn't sure if it would be taking her intellectual property so I emailed her with what I was doing & she gave me the thumbs up!!!...I am being vague because although it is up in my room, I haven't finished it for TpT...my student's do know the story about how I developed what I used to teach them.

Congratulations Erin!! {clicking on her picture will take you to her blog!}

Erin is in the center bottom picture!  Last year at TpT conference...she will be the 1st speaker I hear this year!

Yesterday's art...painters tape & wet sidewalk chalk!  I LOVE the middle one! :-D  This student gave it to me to keep too!

I have blogged about redoing my classroom library to reflect AR levels.  Now, I am trying to learn Google Forms & Sites and incorporate them into managing the library...I am sure it will take a LONG time to get all of my books in, but this is what I have done so far...I added this to my classroom blog:

When the students click on the picture it takes them to this:

It's Sunday night & I want to hit the publish button...so really nothing for #4 & #5!  Hopefully back next weekend with some more to share!

Five for Frunday {Busy weeks with Gypsy; Math Games; Mentor Sentences; Looking forward to TpT Conference; Update on a Prayer Request}

The last few weeks have been very busy as my daughter has been performing in the musical Gypsy at our community college, in our brand new Performing Arts Center!  They had performances last weekend & this weekend...so some very late nights.  Grandma & Grandpa came to see her {bottom left} & the bottom right picture is with one of her dance teachers/dance studio owner...I am a very proud mommy!

I LOVE everything I have purchased from Blair Turner...she has so many great products!...this week we did some review that we really needed before our fraction test with a fun Number Line Bingo game from her 3rd Grade Math Center Bundle...I so appreciated a blog post she did titled Real Life Isn't Always Laminated~Celebrating the Struggle...I really appreciate her honesty that her classroom isn't always 'picture perfect' & there are challenges...BTW, a little tip for you...each of my table groups picks up a 'desk trash' basket to collect it all up when we are doing a cutting activity.

I am REALLY loving Ideas by Jivey's Mentor Sentences!!!!  This is my bulletin board with what we have done...I would highly recommend this & I wish I had bought the bundle instead of just the first 10 weeks!!!...my biggest challenge has been finding the books she uses...Patricia Polacco is my principal's favorite author and he owns My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother so he came & read it to my class {I was frustrated with myself for not getting a picture of him sharing it with the class!!}...I have found several books that I don't own on YouTube which I have to show on my camera over the doc cam since our district blocks it!...I see my students finding great synonyms, looking critically about the details of a sentence & its structure & SO excited to share their modified & imitation sentences!!!

I am SO looking forward to the TpT conference this summer!!!!  On the left are pictures of what I just ordered from Vistaprint...my countdown app showing how many days, hours, & minutes to the conference, a picture of the little badges/tags I had last year at the conference...I am a part of a closed Facebook group~you can request to join~that celebrates the fonts of Kimberly Geswein, Brittney Murphy, & Darcy Baldwin...Font it up...I created a badge/tag to share with others in the group for us to be able to find one another easier at the conference!

In my last post I shared a prayer request for baby Lizzy...below is the post they shared on Facebook this week, it was the day after Addisyn was able to give her an official name, Emma Leigh, in court...I HIGHLY recommend going to the blog post Risky Love, written by a neighbor of theirs! Please continue to pray for the Block family!

Happy Easter! 5 for Frunday & Currently~April

Well, I missed the last 2 Five for Fridays...so I am doing a 5 for Frunday & Currently April...here's the latest...

1st Happy Resurrection Sunday~Happy Easter!!!

{Created by Darcy Baldwin(posted with permission)...click on print to go to her site & download it too!}

This sweet little boy was born just a week and a half ago...I was able to see him the within the first hour of him being born...only his mommy could hold him for the first hour...tomorrow my hubby & I get to go  & hold him (for our first time!) & take lots of pictures! :-D ...can't wait!!!{I took the picture on the right, his mommy took the picture on the left, she had been trying to catch a picture of him smiling...success!}

Last Friday I spent the day with my almost 16 year old son Andrew looking at his first choice college, California Baptist College...we had a great day & it just make him want to go there even more!...his homework from Mom, start reading 

On April 1st we had some fun...I showed the class my email on my doc cam...

... they read the subject line and groaned!! {if you have never been to GoNoodle this may confuse you, if you have you are probably giggling right now!}...then I opened the email...

there were cheers & laughter... right after that we made our April Fool's glasses & invited the principal to drop by our room...{hearts are added in Picmonkey...glasses are made my them!}

It is SPRING BREAK!!!!

April Currently...

EGGS-plain your name~Well...it goes back quite a few years...I had a brand new teacher next door to me several years ago and she created a classroom blog... www.hopintoroom14.blogspot.com ...it was frog themed...her classroom was referred to as 'The Pond'...frogs everywhere~supper cute..I remembered thinking that I would never have a theme in my classroom...a while later I came across all of my apple things...rugs, knickknacks, clock, wall hangings, etc...in my garage {they had been bumped from our home office to make room for my husband's business}...& I thought I could do an apple themed classroom...when I learned from my friend how to make a classroom blog in May of 2010 I titled it "The Apple Basket"...once I discovered the wonderful world of teacher blogging & decided to create one of my own it made sense to me to become 'The Apple Basket Teacher'

UPDATED!

I forgot when I originally posted this to include one topic I was to share with you...I have shared more than once here about the Block family who live in Guatemala...they live at Village of Hope which has this on their website:

GIVING FAITH, FAMILY AND A FUTURE TO ORPHANS WITH SPECIAL
NEEDS IN GUATEMALA WHILE MINISTERING TO THE LOCAL COMMUNITY

They received a precious little abandoned baby girl Lizzy, just 10 days old...she was in desperate need of surgery & God provided for her surgery...the first picture on the upper right was the first one the Block's shared, the second when poor little Lizzy was hurting with her IV...they sent out a request for prayers & the next picture shows her sleeping peacefully..Praise God!..the next two are just such adorable pictures of Lizzy!

{I couldn't add my watermark...these were their 

pictures I just put them together}

"They are saying that she has about 10% of her

 brain.  That there will be no quality of life. That she

 will only have reflexes... And yet she knows Addisyn 

Block voice. She calms when she holds her. She is 

comforted by her touch. She knows SHE is loved. 

And that, that simple thing- is really all any of us 

ever need- to be loved." This quote was shared on 

their facebook page {italics mine for emphasis}  

The bond between these two is evident in the 

pictures...I am so glad God put them together! 

Please pray for the healing & growth of Lizzy's

 brain...our God is the God of miracles, just look at

 what  today is RESURRECTION SUNDAY!!