Just the Two of Us

Since there are only two of us capable of playing board and card games (sorry Chip and Bruce.. you're not helpful here) around the house, I made it my personal mission to find games for two people. Let me tell you... This is not an easy feat!

Just the two of us.

Now I'm here to spread my wisdom to fellow couples in the same boat. 

Full disclosure, I'm still a little bitter about an intense game of Skip-Bo from Wednesday night that did not end in my favor... However, I'll march forward and rework my strategy while I'm home on a snow day. 

Here are a couple of my favorite games to play with your main-squeeze when it's just the two of you. (Technically... you could play these with anyone, but you get my point)

Ticket to Ride

Once upon a time, I play this cross country train adventure game with two of my friends before Scott moved to the lake. Since then, I've been eye-balling it at Target waiting to take the leap because it was so fun. We invested in the game over Christmas break and have been travelin' across the U.S.A. ever since!

Now, I'm wishing (after seeing the way cheaper price on Amazon...) I would have utilized my Prime account to make the purchase. Ah! You live and learn. 

A game full of strategy and sneaky decision making can really bring out the competitive side in your opponent. I speak from experience. 

Just remember... it's only a game. It's only a game...

Skip-BO

Confession: I'm addicted to Skip-Bo. It's kind of like Uno on steroids. The best part? You can play with two people. Sometimes it may take a couple of hours (good 'ol fashioned quality time if you ask me!), but we like to queue up our favorite show on Netflix and play 'til the hogs come home. 

Those are my faves! I'm always looking to add our collection for date night. What 2-player game suggestions do you have? Share with me!

"Embrace the Butter" -A Wise Friend

Right after Christmas my husband and I set off on a little adventure to Savannah, Georgia and it was ah-maze-ing. I loved every part of the city and I cannot wait to visit again and bring all of my friends!

Here are my tips to traveling in one of the most charming cities in the United States.

Tip #1: Read the book. 

Before jetting off for the holidays, one of my friends told me I needed to read the book "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" before going to Savannah. I'm so glad I followed her advice! 

Tip #2: Grab your camera, fanny pack, and trolly sticker and be a tourist. 

There's no shame in being a tourist, asking for directions, or wearing that big 'ol camera around your neck (these are all my exclusive opinions).  I often look the part of a tourist in my home town. I can't help it. I love to explore. 

We learned more about the city of Savannah on our trolley ride around town than by walking or reading anything online. The best part is you can hop and on and off the trolley throughout the day. 

Please note the trolley stickers and camera strap!

Tip #3: Explore River Street

Hobble along the cobble stone roads and grab a bear claw to snack on or pop in Vic's on the River for an amazingly delicious crawfish beignet. We opted out of a river cruise, but if that tickles your fancy.. I say go for it! 

Tip #4: Eat. Eat it all. 

This is by far the most important tip. The food was amazing. We had tapas as Jazz'd, soup and sandwiches at Six Pence Pub, and pimento cheese hush puppies at Churchill's to name a few. Oh, did I mention our amazing breakfast at Collins Quarter? Even the chai tea was heavenly. Savannah can do-no-wrong in the meals department. 

Tip #5: Bike Tybee Island

My husband and I love to bike around cities. We love to stroll around and take in the sites together. Tybee was the perfect island to bike around. It was about a 25 minute car ride from Savannah and the perfect way to spend a morning. We had breakfast at Sunrise Cafe, biked around the town, visited the lighthouse, and had lunch at A-J's Dockside. Perfection!

Tip #6: Soak Up the History

Wave at the girl. Visit the historic homes. Take a look at the art museum. Read the plaques. Hop from square to square. Sit where Forrest Gump sat and talked about his mama and Jenny. Do it all!

Mercer House 

Last but not least... If it claims to be famous, I'd go ahead and test it out.

Tip #7: Is it famous? You should probably test it out yourself. 

Exhibit A: Do I regret trying these famous cookies of Savannah? Nope. Sure don't. I would like some more, please.

Located in City Market... You should go there too!

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I've barely scratched the surface on visiting Savannah, but now you have one more city to add to your U.S.A. bucket list! 

Where shall we travel next, blog-friends?

Happy New Year!

I'm welcoming the second half of the year with open arms! 

We have an opportunity to start fresh and reset things in our classrooms. Along with reviewing our classroom expectations and chatting about our holiday breaks.... we'll be setting a few goals for 2016!

Download the PDF version of our 2016 goals page here. 

Download the Word (editable) version of the 2016 goals page here. 

How are you kicking off the new year with your students? 

Shutter + Christmas Cards

A little shutter made its way into our Christmas decor this year! 

 

This faithful little shutter sat un-painted and hidden for the past two years because I couldn't figure out what to do with it.  I even moved it into our new house hoping inspiration would strike one day. A can of red spray paint and glitter blast brought this bland shutter to life. Now it's home to Christmas cards from family and friends. 

We have the perfect spot for the shutter(s) on our landing. I was so excited to keep cards on display showing off cute pictures of family and friends.

Shutter number one is filling up! It's almost time to bust out the second shutter.

Happy Holidays!

Watch Out Discovery Channel! We're Space Experts!

Let me start by saying, this was one of those projects where I wasn't really sure what was going to happen. I knew what standards I was teaching and gave each of my students a solid rubric - but from there I was anxious to see the direction it went. I can honestly say I learned a valuable lesson about trust and being willing to try - even when you think it may be too much to handle.  I was so amazed by what the students created together. It was a swift reminder that I don't always have to be in control of every little detail. Hop over to our YouTube channel to see what I mean. 

Now, let's get down to business. Who can get me in touch with Discovery Channel so we can start broadcasting our knowledge of the universe? Email me. :)

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This project was broken into three different phases. Overall, it took us about 5 days total (or five class periods of 50-min each). The last day was more of a catch up/clean up/submit to YouTube. 

First, we broke out to in expert groups based on interest. Students were able to choose if they wanted to research the Sun, Moon, or Earth. On Google Classroom, I provided a "research guide" with specific questions about the Sun, Moon, or Earth (depending on their topic of research). I tailored the questions to our specific standards to ensure students were researching the appropriate facts. Plus, I provided specific links because I didn't want my students to get lost in the world wide web - it can happen you know!

The next step was to create informative movie clips about their respective topic. You can view those on Google Drive here. This is where the fun began! Students collaborated in their expert groups with a partner to develop a script for their movie clip. They were informed their movie clip would be used in a collaborative iMovie in the following days. In our school Maker Space, we have a green screen available - so we decided to do some filming in outer space thanks to the DoInk app!

Once partners had filmed a movie clip, they AirDropped it to their partner. The final step of the project was to form a collaborative group with one Moon expert, one Sun expert, and one Earth expert. From there, students put all of their movie clips together and began the editing process. Students had access to their rubric/checklist via Google Docs at all times. Prior to each class, we would review the rubric to remind students of what was expected for the video. You can check out the rubric here. 

Today, students were quite giddy when they heard their videos were officially published to YouTube (with parent permission!).  They were so excited to go home and subscribe to our classroom YouTube Channel. 

Figurative Language in Literature

Our figurative language study is in full swing! This week, we are focusing our efforts on finding examples of figurative language in literature, music, and in our daily lives. Inspired by a colleague, I am challenging my students to listen and think about figurative language all hours of the day. As they find examples of figurative language, they are invited to add those examples to our class collaborative Google Slides. 

Did I mention we are 1:1 now? Life changing, folks! We just recently started utlitizing Google Classroom now that we are 1:1 with iPads. 

To begin, I created a bare-bones Slides project with the different types of figurative language we study in 5th grade. After assigning the collaborative Google Slides in Google Classroom (how many times can I say Google in this post?), we defined each of the types of figurative language as a class. This isn't the first time we've discussed figurative language, so the definitions were more of a refresher after the long holiday weekend. 

Then, I partnered the students and gave each duo an opportunity to pick a book from my special pile of "figurative language friendly" books. Students read the book together and were adding to the Slides in a matter of minutes! We had so much editing happening at once it caused a bit of panic. We'll refer to that as GAFE Growing Pains. :) We did some troubleshooting and solved the problem with "disappearing" text. 

"Owl Moon" by Jane Yolen 

"Pigsty" by Mark Teague

Here's a snapshot of the titles we used. There were several more I found online, but I didn't have access to those books in my personal library or our school library. 

If you are looking for good books to add to your mentor text stash or your classroom library, I highly recommend the following titles! I apologize to your bank account in advance. 

Pigsty by Mark Teague

Fireflies by Judy Brinkloe

My Mama Had a Dancing Heart by Libba Moore Gray

When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant

Roller Coaster by Marla Frazee 

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

Yesterday, I Had the Blues by Jeron Ashford Frame

Parts by Tedd Arnold

Grandfather Twilight by Barbara Berger

What books do you use to teach figurative language? Share with me!

My Two Cents

I think about how much students are always watching my actions. They see my in the grocery store (ignore me while we're there but then tell me how they saw me buying chips at Hyvee the following morning.) They are always watching for my example on how to react in situations. They watch how I treat their peers and how I respond to situations when I'm upset. They make sure I say the Pledge of Allegiance with them every morning. Heck, they even watch when I sneeze. True story: while teaching second grade, I was discussing the importance of washing your hands after your sneeze to prevent spreading germs. One student piped up and said, "I know Ms. Furnell sneezes in her elbow! I've seen her do that before!" Whew - that was a close one. Good thing I wasn't sneezing in my hands otherwise I would have been ratted out... quick! 

My point:  kids are always watching for the example of how they should act.

I'm not saying I'm perfect, but I do strive to share the positive -- spread awareness on topics close to my heart and use social media as a platform to make others feel good. Would I want my kids to see what I post on Twitter? Sure I do. Would I want my nieces and nephews to see my blog? Of course.  

I often use Spiderman as point of reference in my classroom. 

"With great power comes great responsibility." 

I'm usually saying these famous words in regard to our science experiment or iPads. However, I think we can apply it to social media. We have great power with social media to be the change we wish to see and promote positivity and kindness OR we have the power to put a damper on those around us with our negativity. We also have a responsibility to teach our future tweeters and Facebookers how to be kind "behind the screen" and treat others (friends and strangers) with respect and dignity online just as we would face to face. 

Last week was difficult watching post after post riddled with negativity about everything going wrong in the world. I, personally, took a break from social media because it became too overwhelming to read.

I know life isn't always sunshine and roses. Trust me - I get it.
However, think of how contagious a small smile can be - can't we have the same affect with our posts online? Can't we help spread happiness online just as we would in person?

So maybe... Just maybe! If we start spreading happiness those in the future will follow in our footsteps and spread kindness online as well. 

I'm in. Who's with me?