'Twas the Friday Before Thanksgiving

I cannot believe it's Friday again....yahoo!!!! This weekend will consist of me, some hot tea, and a comfy bed. I've been battling a nasty cold for the past few days.  Hopefully it's gone before Parent/Teacher conferences on Monday & Tuesday AND the glorious holiday weekend! So here is a small peek at what's been going on with me this week aside from pill popping Mucinex and hacking daintily coughing.

Last Saturday I headed to a local craft show with a buddy of mine and her mamma and I picked up this precious necklace! Now, I'm not usually one for the cheesy teacher jewelry...BUT I really couldn't resist. I mean, how much more Ms. Frizzle can you get, right!? Plus my inner desire to be a kindergarten teacher was thinking 'Ooooo...perfect for Rainbow Day!' 

Ice-Cream for dinner? Duh! This is from one of my favorite homemade ice-cream parlors in the Chicagoland area...folks that is one scoop. For real. It's ridiculous.  Since I'm horrible at decision making, they let me get a half scoop of two flavors, Egg Nog and Cinnamon. Yum! It totally put me in the holiday spirit!

(Please ignore the thumb that is in desperate need of a mani...my buddy Alison at Rokin' and Lovin' Learnin' is probably shuddering.  Sorry Alsion!!!

One of the reasons why I love third grade is teaching students how to become more independent learners and developing those problem-solving skills.  My students have been busy editing and revising their expository pieces this week.  Here is a student practicing being independent by checking his spelling using Pages on the iPads.

On Friday I had the opportunity to share one of my favorite read aloud stories during the month of November, Thank You Sarah by Laurie Halse Anderson.  I was first introduced to this book in my children's literature class during my time at Monmouth College and fell in LOVE with it.  If you're not familiar, the story introduces the reader to a woman named Sarah Hale whose perseverance resulted in Thanksgiving becoming a national holiday.  

Afterwards, I took the time to read aloud these little notes as to why I was thankful for each and every one of my students.  They blushed when their name was called, patted one another on the back, and even shared a few hugs.  I then slipped the notes in their mailboxes to take home over their holiday vacation.  

At the beginning of the week my students created these feasts to decorate our room during those few spare moments.  Students loved using the hole-puncher to create their green peas, fluffing up cotton balls to make creamy mashed potatoes, and drizzling their brown paint gravy.  

To those of you who are already enjoying your holiday, Happy Thanksgiving! My booty will be back at school on Monday and Tuesday....only two more days!