Shopping Carts Ready

Hi y'all! I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving and enjoyed the day! I ate way too many rolls, but they were so delicious and worth it. My mom and I saw Interstellar after eating; great movie but I kinda feel like I needed a degree in quantum physics to truly understand everything that was happening!
Congrats to Erin M. for being the winner of my Instagram giveaway! That $10 Tpt gift card is gonna come in handy for....

Thank you Jillian Starr for sharing these adorable graphics to promote the sale!

If you braved Black Friday and went shopping, I bow down to you. I haven't done any Black Friday shopping in years, but I do love me some Cyber Monday! I can't wait to finally unload my wish list!

I haven't done too much school related over the break, but I did manage to finish up one new product.

I plan on reviewing place value and comparing numbers in more detail with some of my small groups during math stations. This is my first year having a separate rotation for math stations instead of mixed in with ELA. Hopefully I can get a blog post up about that soon. 

So get those carts ready for Monday! I can't wait to snag some more fabulous products. Enjoy your weekend!

Fluency and a Giveaway!

Hi friends! I've been meaning to get the blog post up and going, but this week has been off the charts! Everyday after school I've had something either work or personal related, plus I haven't been to the gym all week. I don't even wanna think about stepping on a scale. The good news is one more day of school and then hello Thanksgiving break!
I've been working with a group of my minis during intervention on fluency. Not only do I want them to increase their words per minute, but I also want them to read with expression and be actively engaged. I racked my brain for ways new ways to practice fluency and voila a product was born.

We are a techie loving bunch in room 316, so I decided to combine literacy with QR codes. I didn't want this activity to be tied to any sort of assessment. I do monthly fluency checks with my class where I include all the nitty gritty data. Assessment of course has it's time and place. Fluency With a Twist I wanted to be a no pressure no time limit sort of thing.

8 different stories and 9 different tasks can be mixed and matched. No story will be read the same way twice in a row!

I worked with two of my minis this week. The first go around I just wanted them to read, then came the twist part.

Each QR code is a different color which represents a different task they must do while reading.

As soon as they scanned those QR codes they started to giggle. 

Engaged minis, fluency practice, and movement combined in one my mission was accomplished. I overheard one of the girls commenting how much fun she was having. Don't we want our students to have fun while learning? I don't know any student who has fun doing the same old same old every day. Check out this fun activity at my TPT store.

Are you ready for a little giveaway?!

I'm celebrating reaching 100 followers on Instagram! My only regret is not joining Instagram earlier than I did. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Two things I love on Instagram; teaching ideas and seeing what other teachers are wearing. So in honor of both I want one teacher to enjoy some extra spending money for both! More than once I've browsed #whattheteacherwore or Pinterest to help me get dressed for school. I'll announce the winner next Friday. 

You Ought Know About Learning Spaces

Happy Saturday friends! I hope your weekend is all kinds of fabulous! I'm thrilled to participate in my very first blog hop this month with Jasmine over at Buzzing With Mrs. McClain.

Last year I started implementing learning spaces with my minis, and let me tell you it's been one of the best changes I've made. I'm a huge advocate of movement in the classroom. If our minis aren't getting the nourishment and oxygen they need for their brains we can't expect them to learn. Nourishment and oxygen will only happen with activity, not sitting in a chair all day in a lecture type environment. I'm so passionate about this subject I could ramble on, but I won't! On to the blog post...

This is what my classroom looks like at least a few times a day.

There used to be an extra bookshelf where those ottomans now are, but I wanted that area to be more effective. 

With the exception of taking tests, I allow students to choose their learning space with clear expectations. Students know learning spaces are a privilege, and if they choose not to make good choices that privilege is lost. 

This is our listening lounge which I originally intended only to be used during listening station but now is a popular area in the classroom. 

I was so scared the first time I tried learning spaces that it would only cause chaos. When everyone is in their preferred learning space it's so quiet you could hear a pin drop. I also make sure there are plenty of clipboards to go around so time isn't wasted looking for a flat surface to write on.

I'm hoping to add more pillows and some bean bags to my room this year. I wish I weren't so picky about what I wanted and it'd get done a lot quicker. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Save the Turkeys!!

*This post was updated on 11-5-17*
Happy Saturday teacher friends! I hope y'all have been enjoying November as much as I have. October through November is always a special time in the classroom for me even though it gets chaotic with everything it seems we must do. The minis have been working hard this week and are quickly becoming some techie super stars!
A couple of weekends ago I attended what I believe was my 7th ( it's hard to keep track after 4) Edcamp. What is an Edcamp you ask? Well, it's the most amazing professional development you will EVER attend! Edcamp's take place all around the world. Check out the Edcamp wiki and it's almost guaranteed there is one happening near you in the future.
While I was at Edcamp I attended a session on QR codes. I love love love me some QR codes in the classroom, but realized there's so much more to be done with them. I learned about this great site called Record mp3.  So simple to navigate and use!

*Update*

If Recordmp3 is giving you trouble, Try Vocaroo instead. Vocaroo can save you time by automatically generating a QR Code for you. Look for the QR Code link at the bottom of the screen after saving your recording.

As soon as I saw this, the techie wheels in my head started to turn. I just knew I had to take this greatness back to my class and use it with my minis ASAP. 

In honor of Thanksgiving, we decided to change our point of view and think like a turkey. Our Save the Turkeys bulletin board was born.

Think your minis are too young to use technology like the big kids? Well guess again. Everyone in my class from the high, average, and low finished this project with flying colors.

The minis got to work right away creating their turkeys.

We spent part of Tuesday afternoon creating the turkeys. Our QR codes were made Wednesday and Thursday while we did station work. After modeling how Record mp3 works, I gave each student an index card to write 3 things they were going to record. This prevented the response of not knowing what to talk about and we worked on some persuasive writing skills.

When our stations time rolled around, you could feel the excitement from the minis. Make sure you click allow on your microphone settings then begin recording. If you make a mistake it's all good just start over and keep going until you get it right.

Once a recording was done, we simply clicked on the automatically generated link and transferred it over to QR Stuff. There are other sites to create QR codes, however I love the simplicity of QR Stuff. It's literally as easy as 1,2,3.

I chose the download option for output type so I could just copy and paste each QR code onto a word document without printing each one individually and wasting ink and paper.

I always have to giggle when I see the looks of concentration on their faces. They knew we'd be sharing our work, so they knew doing their best was important.

Check one reason why the "turkeys" of room 316 think you should find something else to eat for Thanksgiving.

I've got another idea in mind for December I can't wait to get started!

November Currently

Well, I don't know about y'all but I don't think this whole fall back time change is doing me much good so far. I tossed and turned last night and feel like I didn't get the rest I needed.How were your class minis Friday? Surprisingly my minis did a great job most of Friday even with the Halloween anticipation setting in during the afternoon. Look at one of my cutie pie minis all decked out!

Is that not the cutest outfit ever?!

 A new month means a new edition of Currently with Farley!
I bow down to all your amazing bloggers who are able to get your currently up so quick! Maybe one day I'll catch up.

Listening- I know I really shouldn't complain but it's a little cold right now in my part of Texas! I know someone up north will look at our current temperature and laugh, but we haven't seen a forecast like this in a while. Last night before going to bed, I had to turn the heat on. I'm still freezing.

Loving- Yesterday I FINALLY made it to get my hair done! It's all nice and polished...when I haven't rolled out of bed 30 minutes ago. I'm not ashamed to say I'm blogging with bedhead right now. Another thing I'm loving is a new scent I found at Victoria's Secret on Friday.

I posted this pic on Instagram but it's worth posting here because it smells so good. It's called Oh What Fun and I believe it'll only be around for the holidays. I'm definitely going back to stock up on some more.

Thinking- After church today I must go to the grocery store or I'll starve. I was also thinking of a Lakeshore visit today since Mardel will be closed. I'd like to get some letters to match my November bulletin board. After that is the usual blah stuff like laundry and preparing for Monday.

Wanting- I'm currently covered in three different blankets but I need more.

Needing- I always want an extra pair of hands on Sunday, mainly because I do most of my household chore like stuff Sunday afternoons. It normally ends when I decide I'm bored!

Reading- Do teaching blogs count as reading? I haven't read a book for pleasure all year which isn't normal for me. Any book suggestions?

Can y'all believe it I made it through a currently without mentioning The Real Housewives, ha! Don't forget to link up with your currently.

Sunday Savings

We've finally got some cooler weather coming through in my part of Texas, and I must admit I'm liking it for now! I'm normally a sunny and warm weather kinda girl but I'm pulling out the boots, leggings, and long sleeves. It's time to link up again with All Things Apple for some Sunday Savings goodness!

To celebrate turning back the clocks one hour, everything in my store is $2.00 or less! I'm sooo excited about one of my most recent products; my Superheroes of Speech task cards.  My minis have been chugging along  learning all about nouns, verbs, and adjectives lately.

Come Monday our listening station will be filled with the sights and sounds of November with Thanksgiving QR code stories.

Don't forget to link up and share your Sunday Savings!