weekend plans

I hope you had a fabulous week!
I...for one...am thrilled that it's Friday. :-)
We have a few things we could do this weekend, but we haven't committed to a single thing! And not a soul in the Tilmon house needs an alarm set for Saturday morning. Woohoo! It's the little things in life...

I've been browsing blogs this evening. Wow! I continue to be amazed by the awesome teacher blogs. Kudos to you for sharing! And I'm a little late to Farley's party over at Oh Boy Fourth Grade. But I really couldn't resist posting my "currently" for January...

I have a few errands to run tomorrow...groceries, supplies from Staples, and walking shoes from Rush Running. I have a few games and activities on my list to make this weekend. Plus it's time to finalize the next assessment for geometry. So what are you up to this weekend?!?

Hope you have a great one...make it count!

a day in my shoes

Hop over to link up for the "A Day in My Shoes" blog party!
Thanks to Katie for hosting such a fun party!

So here's a snapshot of a day in my life...
Tuesday, January 17, 2012

6:00 am
Alarm sounds. I sneak out of bed and wake the girls. Shower, hair, makeup, get dressed, etc. Meanwhile I check on the girls in between drying, spritzing, and straightening my hair. And somewhere towards the end of this process my hubby hops out of bed and is ready to drive out of the garage in 15 minutes. If it weren't for the amazing chunky necklaces that my girly girl self sports each day, I could be seriously jealous of my sweet hubby!

7:00 am
I'm very spoiled because my hubby takes our youngest girly to school each day. So they leave at 7:00 on the dot and I start gathering...my work bag, ipad, and SmartOnes frozen lunch. Our oldest daughter heads to school with me. We try to leave the house no later than 7:15 am.

7:30 am
Arrive at school. My teacher friend texted me that she is out sick today. I printed her lesson plans and sent them to the office.

7:45 am
My weekly duty is to monitor detention on Tuesday mornings. The students report to my room. Once I get everyone situated, I am able to write the objectives and agenda on the board.

8:25 am
Detention students are released, and I turn records in to the office. I have ten minutes before class begins. I greet my students at the door. And then during announceents I check in with those who sneak by me in the hall. ;)

8:35 am
School begins. I start each morning with the sweetest group of 7th graders (count: 21)! They spend 15-20 minutes on their MATHercise while I check attendance, conference with low quiz score kiddos, and pull students with missing assignments. Then we all switch gears to today's lesson. We created a mind map to summarize the Angle Relationships unit we've been working on for the past two weeks. Finally, the students begin working on their study guide for the test coming tomorrow. We worked one competency and then paused to check for accuracy and ask questions...repeat until the end of class.

10:02 am
The end of first hour with five minutes to switch classes. I have another great group of 7th graders (count: 24) coming for math. Same general plan...although our summary discussion runs quite differently. Monitor and adjust. :) A few minutes before the end of class, I get a phone call from my daughter's school nurse. My sweet girly has the stomach bug. I call my hubby, and he is  available to head home for the afternoon.

11:27 am
The end of first hour with five minutes to switch classes. I have planning period with lunch included in the mix. Today my 7th grade PLC is meeting during our prep. We meet to set common grading for the next unit we start later this week.

12:30 pm
I should be eating lunch...but a few emails need returned first...and I need to add a couple of discussion slides to my geometry PowerPoint...so I opt to eat my turkey sandwich and pringles at my desk while I work.

1:25 pm
Seminar. I have a group of 7th graders (count: 26) gathering in my room for RED (Read Every Day) time and study hall. Our study hall is unique in that it allows students to travel to other teachers for tutoring and/or assessments. I have several students travel to the Library and computer lab while others come to see me for help with their math review and one geoemtry student comes to make up a missed quiz from his absence.

2:10 pm
Seminar ends and students have five mintues to switch classes. I have an amazing group of 8th graders (count: 17) coming for preAP geometry. I check homework while my students work to find the area of a regular polygon with a known side length. Since four out of five teams are on track, we check their homework for accuracy and answer questions. Next we review characteristics of quadratic functions and lead the discussion to deriving an equation of a parabola in terms of the focus and directrix. We close with a Showdown activity to ensure they can put their new knowledge to work.

3:35 pm
School ends. My daughter helps me clean desktops. We have a birthday celebration in my room for one of our math teachers. Fun! I pack some lesson planning items, change clothes, and leave the birthday fun early.

4:15 pm
I have physical therapy for my heel. Unfortunately, I've been battling plantar fasciitis for over a year. But physical therapy is working! My oldest daughter is with me and claims it appears that I'm paying big money for a foot massage. LOL!

5:30 pm
We grab take-out and head home for dinner and homework. My oldest daughter provided the entertainment at the dinner table by sharing several of her QuickWrites from first semester. She loves to write! After the girls finish baths and head to bed, I create a couple of items for a future MATHercise tub and watch a TV show with my hubby.

11:30 pm
Lights out!
Thanks for reading! Be sure to link up and read other snapshots...it's always fun to here about the lives of other teachers.

Enjoy the rest of your week...make it count!

be my valentine exchange

How fun is this?!? Caitlin and Sarah have a lot of Valentine's Day fun in store for this exchange. So hop on over and sign up today!

And here's what I have been working on today...

(click on the picture to visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store to purchase this game)

We will be starting a new unit later this week...geometric properties. The first competency involves plotting vertices of a polygon and classifying the polygon by type, convex/concave, and regular/irregular. This card game allows student to practice the classification task of the standard. The game is designed to be played as either Go Fish or Old Maid. Enjoy!

Have a great week...and make it count!

bigger than the storm

In May 2011 a tornado devastated Joplin, MO. The town is located 1.5 hours north of us. Our church youth group went on mission to help with disaster relief efforts. My sweet Taylor spent a few hot summer days sorting clothing, toiletries, and canned goods in giant outdoor tents filled with donations. The students sported grey t-shirts that said, "God is greater than the storm. Psalm 31.24" Time has passed, but many still face the devastation each day. And a special request has been made by a teacher from Joplin.



Erica, a Joplin kindergarten teacher, is looking for support for their teachers. She wrote this:

I teach in Joplin, which made worldwide news last May when our town was cut in half by an F5 tornado. Many of our elementary schools were destroyed or damaged, and as teachers, we have had a roller coaster year. I came from a meeting yesterday where many are struggling with the weight of all we are dealing with. My request is this: would you be willing to donate a created pack of your choosing to give away at a drawing at our upcoming district Kindergarten grade level meeting? The meeting is Monday and I am sorry for the short notice but I did not realize until the meeting how down everyone is feeling.

I emailed this integers activity for middle school math teachers to Erica:

Help spread the love! Hop over to Mrs. Wills Kindergarten to help the Joplin teachers!

different strokes for different folks

I am a visual learner.
Hands down. No contest.
My 7th grade math students this year...overall...not so much.
They tend to need kinesthetic links to their learning.
Meanwhile I try to strengthen their visual side.
Some of my attempts are major.
Other attempts seem quite minor in the grand scheme of things.

Here's a sample activty from my MATHercise this week. We were working on angle relationships. I created this Build a Snowman Game to review complements and supplements. My students said the placemat was very helpful...love the visual tool this adds!

(click on the picture to visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store to purchase this game)
We also worked on this writing prompt in our Journal Entry tub.
And this Stopwatch Skills was adapted from here.
And a Sudoku from here for our Mind Workout.

Next week we will start our assessment cycle. We should be ready to tie things together and show what we know! We will play the Roll an Angle Pair Game to review special angles formed by parallel lines cut by a transversal. I need to grade my competency quiz from today so I know who to place in small group on Tuesday.

(click on the picture to visit my Teachers Pay Teachers store to purchase this game)

They spied the angle dice on my desk today. Everyone wanted to know if that was the next game! :)

Tomorrow I will be traveling to the local university with 8 math teacher friends. We will be working on Common Core standards for 7th and 8th grade math. I'm excited to work with the engineering college as we partner for a successful implementation of our new curriculum next year! We are gathering early to carpool.

Better straighten the living room and head to bed.

Have a great weekend...make it count! 

my first blog award

I'm so excited to have received my very first blog award! A huge thanks to The Bubblegum Tree for sharing the honor. She totally made my day!

Now it's my turn to nominate five happy little blogs (200 followers or less) by posting a comment on their blog and sharing the links here.

Be sure to hop on over to these up-and-coming blogs...you are sure to love them too!


Life in Middle School

Teach Love

Secondary Solutions

A Chocoholic Teacher

The Superlatives Six



This was a super LONG short week.
And somehow the weekend seemed to fly too.
But I have been busy making some goodies.

My geometry students just finished their first EOC packet.
They will be taking an end-of-course test in April.
We are quite limited on class time.
So they will complete an independent practice set weekly outside of class.
Each packet includes one open-response item from each of five strands.
Rubrics will be used to provide feedback.
So how do you prepare students for testing?

My weekend has also been filled with creating games for my MATHercise routine.
I'll try to share more soon...

Have a great week...and make it count!

our sweet mamaw

Chuck's mom called this morning to let us know that Mamaw passed away.
Even though we expected the phone call...
Are you ever ready?
Mamaw was an extra special lady.
We spent every Christmas Eve at her house.
She loved our girls...aka "good shoogs".
Fashion and bling should have been her middle name!
And she loved with her whole heart.

Blessed is the one
whose delight is in the law of the LORD,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.
Psalm 1.1-3

Mamaw left a legacy of love.
I want to be her when I grow up! :)
And it comforts me to know she is dancing with her Jesus at this very moment.


I'll be back to chat next week.
Happy New Year to YOU...Make it Count!

upper grades & resolutions linky parties

Kristen over at Secondary Solutions is dedicated to bringing upper grade level teachers to the blogging world. Count me in! I'm happy to share the life I live in my math classroom. Wanna join us? Hop on over to the blog party and link up.

Tis the season...
to set goals for the new year.
And there are two linky parties in the house.
Thanks to A Teacher's Treasure and Live, Love, Laugh Every Day in Kindergarten for getting the party started.

Personal goals:
:spoil my family on a daily basis
:choose sweets with exercise or no sweets at all
:dedicate time for scrappy goodness

Professional goals:
:prepare geometry gurus to shine
:build MATHercise tasks that align to CCSS
:apply for Kagan certified trainer program

So are you a goal setter?
Wanna share?



my mathercise routine

Well.
It only took two years.
But after much resistance on my part...
I admitted my mathercise had flopped.
My students simply weren't engaged.
Middle school students.
They're different, huh?
They crave variety, fun, and structure.
And I was only providing structure.
Out with the old and in with the new.
My classroom adopted a new routine.
With only 5 months under our belts...
We are head over heels in love!
Well...maybe me a bit more than them...
BUT as close as 12-year-olds can come to loving math. :)

I read everything around me.
The Daily CAFE...
Math Work Stations...
And every google search along the way!
My conclusion?
Elementary teachers are genius.
And I should adopt their practices quickly.
So...my MATHercise routine evolved.
Each day (M-Th) my students complete a folder task.
Game to build fluency.
Stopwatch Skills to build accuracy.
Mind Workout to build comprehension.
Journal Entry to expand vocabulary.
The content within each folder task stems from what we learned in class the previous week.
The students work silent solo for 15-20 minutes.
Meanwhile I pull students for small group tasks.
No more than six students working with me.
Maybe this sounds normal to you.
But to this former high school teacher...
The format is uncommon at best.

Clear as mud?!?
Let's look at a sample week...
Next week our MATHercise will be filled with complex area.

Journal Entry...
Students will have two writing prompts to complete.
One is a compare/contrast on calculating complex area.
The other is a goal setting prompt to start our new semester.

Mind Workout...
Students will have a set of plastic pentominoes.
Plus a record sheet of puzzles for their solutions.
This particular set is a free download that I formatted to my style.

Stopwatch Skills...
Students will have a stopwatch.
Plus a record sheet of complex area problems to solve.
This particular set is another free download.
Formatted to my style. ;)

Game...

Students will play the Complex Area Monster Cages game.

Supplies include dice, Cootie Catcher, roll cards, and a record sheeet.

The objective is to calculate the area of complex shape.

The shape is the floor plan of a monster cage.

Fun!

And my favorite part...

The floor plan dimensions are determined randomly.

With the aid of the Cootie Catcher and dice!
(available in my TpT store)

Hope that helps!
I have several weeks outlined.
But I really should get off this blog...
And get busy creating.

Happy Friday to YOU..Make it Count!

11 in '11 linky party

11. Favorite movie you watched:
Smurfs.
Brings back memories from my childhood.
Well...that...
AND the fact that we stalked McDonalds!
Seriously.
Organize classroom.
Purchase Happy Meal in hopes for Smurfette.
Repeat.

10. Favorite TV series:
Lie to Me.
A little on the creepy side.
But then I find myself watching for clues.
Too funny!

9. Favorite restaurant:
Ruth's Chris.
The best salmon in town!

8. Favorite new thing you tried:
Unsweet tea.
Not that I'm in love.
But I gave up carbonation.
And I must have caffeine to survive.
So technically...
That makes unsweet tea my new fave!

7. Favorite gift you got:
Taylor created a linoleum print of our downtown square.
It is phenomenal!
And I have my very own copy. :)
Emma selected the cutest magnets.
They are owls!
Best location for maximum use?
School or home?
Chuck surprised me with a bag of makeup.
He had the Clinique girlies look up my faves.
I know that seems routine and silly for a gift.
But it truly is the thought that counts!

6. Favorite thing you pinned:

I want to make duplicates of this frame.
Plan  to hang on my girls' closet doors.
How fun to post a new message each week?!?

5. Favorite blog post:
Let's go with this one!
I just started blogging again.
After a very long hiatus.

4. Best accomplishment:
A four-day scrapping record!
I spent a long weekend with my sister and her friend.
We rented a house in Orlando.
We scrapped and laughed.
And scrapped and laughed some more.
Hoping it becomes an annual tradition. :)

3. Favorite picture:
This photo captures my heart.
It shouts Emma through and through.

2. Favorite memory:
Starting a new Christmas tradition.
We stayed home for the holidays.
It was bittersweet.
But I know Mamaw would approve.
Because I want to be her when I grow up.

1. Goal for 2012:
Choose to be a blessing.
Every single day!

in search of a snow dance

Yep.
A snow dance.
One that produces blizzard conditions after unseasonably warm temps.

Why?
So I can edit this blog.
Again.
And again.

You see...it all started with a tweet.
From a sweet friend.
She was just sharing a Pinterest image.
Via Twitter.
And one thing lead to another.
And another...
And another.
I know.
You understand.
Here I am.

A few tabs of pages.
Math goodies to share.
Conversion to google docs.
And I'm live with my latest passion.
Teaching middle school math.
Not convinced anyone will be interested.
But I'm good flying solo on this one.

Have a fabulous Thursday!
And make it count...