Unmotivated

I am a little sick today, bleh, hate being sick on the weekends! Weekends are for fun, not illnesses.

Anywho...

I started school a few weeks ago and absolutely love my new students. They are so polite and adorable. Even though I thought teaching 6th grade would be scary, they are no scarier than my old 5th graders were.

I am so excited because I received my laminator in the mail from Amazon this week! It is AmAzInG! I immediately started laminating all sorts of goodies!

Cue harmonious music and spot light!

 Like...

This...

And these...

Aaaaand everything on this...

This ZAP game comes from Mimi at 5th Grade Rocks, 5th Grade Rules
I used it last year and the kids loved it! It got so much love, laminating everything was a necessary evil this time around.

This year I am teaching Language (writing/grammar) and Science. Writing has me completely overwhelmed; I don't know how to teach it effectively {slight issue} or how to grade it.

I thought I would throw this out into bloggy land to see if you guys could help me...

How do you grade writing??? Any tips or tricks?? I feel kind of silly asking this question, but honestly, I started and it took me like an hour to read one class' personal narratives and edit them. Multiply that by 3 and I am in trouble. Yikes!

August Currently...

It's AUGUST and that is very hard to believe. I don't think it really hit me because I've been so focused on cranking out my classroom. I even almost drank some expired milk because I thought it was still July, eww (note to self ~ go to grocery store).

Here's my Currently by Farley.

Have a good weekend!

High Five for Friday

Woohoo! It's Friday! Here are some things that happened me to this week that make me happy...

1.  I got the $20 for $80 worth of goodness on Vistaprint through Groupon. Here are some of my favorites that I got.

Will hang above the door (small banner)

Love this quote and it fits with our school doing Capturing Kids Hearts. (small banner)

(small car magnet)

2.  A friend recommended that I go to a place called Rita's Ice-Custard-Happiness. Wow... that's all I can say. It's this crazy concoction of Italian ice and creamy custard. So delicious, but so naughty.

3.  My classroom is mostly done! Pictures to come later... when it's all complete finished and purty.

4.  I ordered a Cuppow! I'm so excited and I just got an email that it has indeed shipped. If you all follow Pioneer Woman I got the idea from her. Duh, it just makes so much sense - a drinking lid for a mason jar. Why didn't I think of that?

5.  My book club decided on the new book we are going to read. It's called Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay. Has anyone read it?? I am excited to have a way to unwind when school starts next week.

Link up if you want to share your top five from this week at From My Grey Desk Blog.

Flaunt Your Cups

I have a slight obsession with water cups. I am proud to admit that I own 7 insulated water cups complete with coordinating straws in various shapes and sizes. Too many? Perhaps, but there is nothing like quenching your thirst after a good lesson with water that is still cold hours later after you first filled it. This one is my favorite.

It's a Tervis Tumbler and you can get them here. Do you have a favorite cup for use throughout the day??? ENTER: My first linky paty!

Link up and flaunt your favorite cup(s)! This could be a water cup like mine or a coffee cup, we don't discriminate here. Thanks for linking up!