Instagram

My new instagram account is live!  Follow me @theluckyreview

I am so thrilled to be able to share more resources and teacher finds with you.  This is just another platform to help me stay in touch and share ideas.  I hope that you'll join me!

Become an ESL online teacher!  Did I forget to mention that I've been a VIPKID teacher since February 2018?  I just signed my 6th contract today.

The things I love most about VIPKID

1. Choose your own schedule.

2. Work one-on-one, no group classes.

3. The lesson are already done, no planning!

The things I wish I knew about VIPKID

1. Early morning hours.  The prime times are 6-8 am Central time (until the time change).

2. Sometimes technology can be tricky, so you need a good internet connection and patience.

3. TPR (in other words lots of physical motions) and props

You can get certified in multiple levels and extra curriculum.  My favorite levels are 2 and 3 which range in age of kids from usually 5-12, depending on their English fluency.  I also teach grammar and pronunciation courses.  Again, all of the lessons are planned and you use slides to teach with.  Most of them are interactive for the students, meaning some things on the slides can be manipulated or can be drawn on.  Are there behaviors? Sometimes.  Are you nervous?  Sometimes.  Is it hard to get out of bed?  Most of the time.  But, in the end you are earning extra income and having fun teaching English and learning about Chinese culture.  If you have questions or would like help with the application and interview process I am here to help.  Just click on my referral link below and I'll reach out to assist any way that I can.  Happy Teaching!

Signup HERE to become a Teacher

It's been a while...

I've been away for quite some time.  I've had many things happen in the past few years that definitely took my attention away form the blog.  I moved to Germany and returned to Texas.  I had a baby while in Germany and was that a surprise.  I've bought two houses and moved from Dallas to Abilene.  I went from teaching 2nd grade, to 3rd grade, back to 2nd grade, and now Kindergarten.  Yep and it all was worth it!  I hope that I can refocus and keep up with this blog.  I still create resources and other things to use, and plan on sharing all of those ideas on here again.  So, stay tuned and know that I'me very grateful you've stuck around for this long.

Trials and Tribulations

Oh My Friends!  I have not forgotten about you all!  Really!  Life's been so very complicated the past year that I abandoned my poor blog.  I don't even know where to begin to explain all of the comings and goings of this year.  So, I'll take you through one-step at a time.

August: Living in Dallas
With my husband deploying for a year, we decided that the best thing we could do was move home to Dallas to be with my family.  We will not be stationed at the same base so it just made sense.  I was blessed to be given the chance to teach this year a 2nd grade class, so I jumped on it.  Sydnee started Kindergarten, and you can just imagine how dramatic that is for this momma.

September- November
My life was in a fog! I seriously could not get out of a funk.  Adjusting to a new school, living with my family again, missing my husband...I just don't even want to think about it because those were some trying times.

December
Went to visit my husband in South Korea for Christmas and loved every minute of it!

January-February
The fog returned once again!  It was so deep Sydnee and I made a countdown chain to summer.  I mean I love teaching and adore my students, but the stress of trying to teach and wanting to be somewhere else was very difficult to overcome.  But, I'm still alive and making it through.

March
Husband came home for a week!  Yes, just a week because we wanted to split up the months we would see him.  He will return again this summer.

April: NOW=New Beginnings
I think the fog has slowly lifted and life feels somewhat normal again.    7 weeks of school left, beginning a new journey with Rodan + Fields, lifestyle changes, and so much more.  When I say I abandoned things, I mean I abandoned everything!  I abandoned my amazing fitness journey that I had going last year, I abandoned my sanity, and so much more.  The focus is on myself now and each little thing I love.

Check out my business at this link https://kluckenbaugh.myrandf.biz

I want to apologize to all my loyal followers for leaving you hanging this year.  I will be posting new things I added since I took this teaching position.  After this year I will sadly not be teaching anymore, for now.  We are moving overseas and it is time for me to take a short break from it all.  I will be posting new ideas though that you can still continue to use.

Thanks for sticking by my side!
 

This and That

Wow, I have never been so busy in my entire life.  Let me just apologize about not blogging since March.  My husband made it home from Afghanistan!!!!  I have never been so happy in my entire life!!!  Our little family is reunited again.

Well, it's time to start packing!  My husband and I are getting ready for our big move back to Texas and have been super busy prepping the house to sale, getting things caked, getting rid of things, etc.  I can hardly wrap my mind around it all.  And to top it off, I still have 13 days left with my 2nd graders.  The end of the year seems to be the busiest.  We are reviewing, teaching new concepts (multiplication, cursive, vocabulary) and squeezing in last minute 2nd grade stuff.  Life, as you can see, has been crazy, but I am definitely blessed.

For the next 2 weekends I will be working.  We have a snow makeup day and I am volunteering for a fundraiser at our school to help assist a fellow teacher and her beautiful child, Liam.  I won't go into great details, but he has a rare condition that leaves the family with many medical bills.  If you would like to read more or donate in anyway check out the Facebook Page Love for Liam.

Our grade level made this really cool raffle basket, aka "The Man Basket".  It is perfect for father's day and filled with tons of goodies.  We used a fire pit and loaded everything into it.  It turned out awesome!

If you are in the Goldsboro, NC area, we invite you to Meadow Lane Elementary on June7th from 7:30-3:00 to join in the fun.  We have many raffle baskets, an auction, games, food, bands, and just plain fun!  I'll be running the dunking booth if you want to come dunk our principal!    It's going to be a blast!

Prefixes and Seuss

So, I'm a little being (as usual).  There.is.no.excuse!  Do you ever feel you finally completed a goal and then BAM! something else is piled on top of you.  Welcome to my life!  Ha!  Between the ice days and getting these kiddos to comprehend through written retell has been a roller coaster.  I am vey impressed with how much growth I have seen this year.  They love to read, but writing is a whole different story.  Let's just say that we are working on that.

This week we have been learning about everything Seuss!  Today we worked on rhyming words.  Sorry, I don't have any pictures of the cute rhymes we created.  The kids loved finding rhyming words.  This packet can be picked up free here on TPT!  It is more than amazing!  It includes literacy and math printable activities.

We also read the story Wacky Wednesday which is a must.  It is an easy read and the kids love finding all of the wacky things in the story.  Though, it can be somewhat time consuming (you've been forewarned).  The following pics are the 2nd grade teachers and my students with their wacky socks.

Along with rhyming words, we have been hard at work on prefixes.  The students really enjoyed reading the room to figure out prefixes and the new meaning of words.  You can pick up this activity in my prefix pack HERE!

 Tomorrow we will read The Lorax and discuss story elements.  On Friday, we will read Fox in Socks and students will create their own magical sock and write a creative story about it.  See there, I threw in a writing piece.  What activities have your students completed this week?

My Fitness Pal & Dance Fitness by Jessica

My journey to lose this weight has begun.  I don't consider myself overweight, but I just don't feel comfortable in my skin.  I have been doing so many diets over the years trying to find the most optimal program that fit with my job as a teacher.  I always come up with the excuses that include "I just don't have the time" or "I'm exhausted from working all day".  Well, enough is enough.  No more excuses.  It's time to focus on me.

I came across My Fitness Pal through Rachelle's (What the Teacher Wants) success story.  Go and read it now!!!  I started really diving into the food journaling the past 3 days and I already feel a difference in the energy I have.  My goal is to journal everyday and do at least 20-30 minutes of aerobics with some strength training.  I've lost 1 pound so far and am pretty proud of that.  My goal is to lose at least 20 and anything past that will be icing on the cake.

Go ahead and check out MyFitnessPal!  I like it because it reminds me of weight watchers, but it is FREE!  There is also an app for your phone so when you are eating out you can get a calorie count on a variety of meals from restaurants.


If you join, I'd love to be fitness pals with you so don't forget to add me.  I'll be back weekly to give you updates.

Also, be sure to check out Dance Fitness by Jessica on Facebook.  She is amazing!  I love doing these dances just to get my heart rate up.

Here's to a healthy and happy week!

100th Day and A New Classroom Makeover (Sort of)!

This year is truly flying by!  The 100th day of school has come and gone.  Sad, I know.  It's my last time to celebrate the hundredth day at this school.  I decide to get dressed up like a 100 year old just like my students.  I wish I could post pics of what they looked like because they went ALL out!  One student had bushy eyebrows, mustache, hat and a big brown wooden cane.  He was adorable!  Check out these pics.  Not too shabby for a 100 year old!

For the past 2 weeks my life has been in complete chaos, but I would have it no other way.  My class had to move out of our class because our classroom was being painted.  Shudder!  Can you imagine being uprooted from your home away from home and transported to another classroom that was just plain BLAH.  No pretty decorations, no technology, chairs and desks of all different sizes, and just no resources whatsoever.  I had to tote my little rolling cart full of rings to keep my kids learning while our room was beautified for 2 days.  Look at the chaos!

I'm still in the process of putting it back together, but I'm not sure if I am going to put anything back up.  Since I'll be leaving in June I may just put up posters and anchor charts about what we are studying.  Of course, my bulletin boards will still be kid-created.  Notice the moving boxes below.  Time to begin the packing.  :(

Lastly, I leave you with a pic of my sweet Sydnee.  We were out of school Tuesday-Friday for the snowstorm/ice storm that just hit NC.  Oh, we had a blast.  We are not looking forward to having to make up the days though.  Good-bye Spring Break!

The good news is that warmer weather is on the way!  Bring on the heat!  Have an amazing week.

Regrouping

Hope you are or are not enjoying this years Superbowl.  I tuned out after the 1st quarter, but I did watch half-time.  I do love me some Bruno Mars!  It's funny because my kids and I danced on Monday to "Just the Way You Are!"  Perfect Song!

I'm just getting back into the groove of things since we had 4 snow days last week.  I guess you could say "Happy Spring Break".  We aren't sure when the makeup days will be, but I can almost bet they will fall right when we need the break the most.  So in keeping with what we have been working on in Room 22, I have revised my freebie "Crazy About Addition".  I made this activity 2 years ago, but like all things it was time for a makeover.  You can pick up this freebie by clicking on any of the pics below.  It is a wonderful activity for those active kids that just need to get moving.

Happy Monday to all of you!

The Packing Begins

I apologize for my absence in recent months.  I've had a ton of things thrown at me all at once and well, I just haven't been able to bring myself to post about it all.  That is until now.

My huge announcement is that I will be mooing back to Texas this summer.  Smiles and tears all rolled into this announcement.  Most of you know my husband is in the Air Force.  Well, we received word at the beginning of December that we had orders.  He will serve a one year tour in Korea (without us).  first thought were that this isn't fair.  My husband is currently deployed and we will only get to be with him for 3-4 months before he is god again.  How do I explain this to a 4 year old when I can't even wrap my brain around it?  Trust me.  So many questions have been running through my mind.

Why Texas?  Well, my that is my home state.  While I miss all my friends and co-workers, I feel that I must go home.  We will not be coming back to NC.  As of now we are waiting for a follow-on assignment which could be Texas anyway or Germany.  It is a waiting game for the next few months. But, in the meantime, I need to be with my family.  I need my daughter to grow up knowing them and for them to cherish all of the time they can with her.

Will I teach in Texas?  This one I am not quite sure about yet.  Possibly, yes.  But, it all depends on where our follow-on assignment is to and when we need to report there.  I may just sub for a while and be a parent volunteer.  This will be her first year of school, Kindergarten.  I just want to lap up all of her innocence while I can.

There you have it!  The craziness of my life the past month or so.  But, I am going to make the best of my teaching for the next few months.  I've got lots of great units in store and hope to share them with you soon.  Here is a sneak peak I am working on for Common Core RL 2.1 and RL 3.2 for you 2nd and 3rd grade teachers.  This will be helpful for those in NC that must complete writing portfolios for your students.

Turkey Fun & Interventions

Brrrr!  It is cold outside.  I am loving very second of this cold front and I hope that it is here to stay.  Don't get me wrong, I L-O-V-E the summer.  What teacher doesn't?  But, I also love to wear leggings and sweaters because let's face it....they are just plain comfortable.  I still pull out my flip-flop during the winter.  They should be a year-round staple, in my opinion.

Okay, enough of my winter fashion sense.  Time to get down to some school business.

one of the most important things I like to teach is "thankfulness".  If we teach kids early about things they should be grateful for, I believe they will carry this with them throughout their lives.  Every year I use a turkey to create a list of things we are thankful for.  This year the 2nd grade team at our school was asked to create centerpieces that would sit in the middle of each table at an Air Force Thanksgiving luncheon.  I got an idea from Pinterest, and made it my own.  My students used their handprints to write things they are thankful for on each finger.  Then, we hot glued (or I hot glued) the hands to brown paper cups.  We also glued on googly eyes, an orange beak, and a red turkey "snood" or as I like to call it "gobbler".  I know that is absolutely not the correct term, but it just makes more sense to me and is a fun word to say.  They turned out adorable!!!!

All the students did an amazing job!

Here is our class "thankful feather" turkey!  I love bringing this back each year!

I also had a little time to do some intervention with sight words, reading fluency, and comprehension.  The kids read these passages with me and found each word every time we read the passage, which ended up being 4 times.  They made flashcards for school and home.  We reviewed these words and will continue to build their cards throughout the year.  this has been one of the most quick and worthwhile interventions I have found for struggling/emergent readers in 2nd grade.  I found this packet {HERE} and I love it!  I wish I could give it 10 stars, it is that wonderful!

Well, that's a wrap.  Do you know of any intervetion packets that you have found on TeachersPayTeachers or any other site that is quick and easy?  Please share!



  

Wild Weather Writing and Fair Fun

My, oh, my!  I have been blessed with many days to keep me busy.  My students have learned so much in such a small amount of time.  I can't believe we have been in school for 5 weeks.  Our days have been jam packed with rigorous activities.

Our Science unit is about everything weather.  From weather, tools, to cloud types, to the water cycle, we are busy little meteorologist.  On of my favorite things about teaching is INTEGRATION!   I can cover so many topics in fewer lessons.  We are required to have our students write informative essays.  For my lesson plans last week, we studied different types of Wild, wacky Weather...hurricanes, thunderstorms, tornadoes, floods, etc.  My students read about all of these and then chose one to give us the low down on what to expect with this weather.  Hurricanes and Tornadoes were of cours ethe favorites!  My students made bubble maps to brainstorm and then created their writings.  They turned out to be wonderful with lots of factual information.  If you have never visited http://www.weatherwizkids.com/, you must check it out!  The kids explored this site and found lots of valuable resources to complete their writings.  Oooooh, there you have technology integration too!

My students enjoyed creating the bottom half of their bodies with rain boots which are a necessity for bad weather days!

Just a little pic on a monster truck ride at the county fair. This was taken after the tantrums and tears.  I'm not sure we will be going back to the fair again until she is 16.  This mom was worn out! 

Can you tell that my daughter is my husband in full, personality and all?

This past week we have been busy studying rhythm and rhymes in poetry.  Pics to follow soon.  Have a relaxing weekend.  Monday will be here before we know it!

It's Fall Friends!

I am loving every second of this cool, gloomy weather.  I actually accomplished quite bit by staying inside.  I have been going back and forth on what to do about National Boards.  I am not questioning whether or not to pursue it, THAT IS A GIVEN!  I want to be a NBCT!  I just can't decide what certification I want, Early Generalist or Middle Generalist.  All I know is early elementary which I absolutely love, butIi wouldn't mind changing to the upper elementary grades in the future.  Having taught Kindergarten, 1st, & 2nd, I have been able to see how the curriculum adapts to each grade.  Hmmm, I'm just don't have a clue on what I should do???

Let me just warn you that I am about to jump all over the place on this post.  I have some of my pics from the past two weeks back logged and wanted to share some happenings in my life.

On Thursday,I received a letter from my local Congressman George Holding in my teacher box at school.  I looked at this huge envelope in my box and thought, "Oh my goodness! What is that?"  It almost felt like Christmas morning.  Then I saw it was from the House of Representatives and couldn't wait to tear it open to find this inside.

The envelope also contained an framed certificate, but I left it at school.  So, no pics right now.  let's just say I was in teacher heaven.  I still can't believe this is happening to me!  I also had a television interview with our school news channel.  I felt like I babbled on and on.  I am one of those people that doesn't like hearing myself on any type of video or recording.  Gosh, I am too critical of myself, but I really think I have a type of OCD .  I just want it all to be perfect. :)

The week before last, my students and my coworkers students created this pretty piece of art for our assistant Ms. K.  The students wrote tiny messages on the sprinkles and we hung it between our two classes to surprise her on her special day.  she loved it!  Our kids did an amazing job of keeping it a secret.

Also last week, my students began the writing process.  Narratives!  Such a big component of 2nd grade!  One of my sweet students wrote this about her best friend.  Too cute!  This activity really gives me an insight about each child.  Thus, I enjoy having my students complete this writing every year.  It was created by the talented Amy lemons and can be found for free {HERE}!

My plans for next week include seasons, weather, and Johnny Appleseed!  

It is that time of year my friends!

  

Author's Purpose, Exploring with PIE

One of my favorite things to teach is Author's Purpose.  I use the PIE acronym.  Persuade-Inform-Entertain!  Each year I find more and more great resources to use with this.  This year my students have Interactive Reading Notebooks.  You can find the one I am using HERE.  It covers all Reading Standards for Common Core 2nd Grade.  Nicole Shelby is fabulous!  My students and I love all of her packs.   I also use her Language Interactive Notebook which I will discuss at a later time.

I modeled how to complete each activity and away they went!!!

A flapbook to write the way to figure out the author's purpose by asking questions about a book.

Common Core Standard with the different type's of author's purposes.

This little piece of work was one of those last minute {AHA} moments.  I found this PREZI and I loved how there was a podcast of the story The Apple Pie Tree at the end.  I had students listen to the story and draw what they understood about the story.  Of course some students only drew one thing, but this little friend drew and wrote about everything she remembered.  I love how she analyzed the story and put her own spin on it.  Amazing!

We will continue discussing author's purpose for the next 3 weeks just to make sure they have it down.  I am having the students keep this in their journal so we can organize books we read into the 3 different categories. I want them to reflect on the stories we read so they are easily able to identify author's purpose when reading a story.  You can grab this freebie by clicking on the pic!

Have a restful weekend my friends!