What's Cooking Wednesday!

If you follow me on Facebook, you already know that I baked A LOT--wore myself out!!  137 cupcakes (not counting the ones that made their way to my belly in the process) later, I don't care if I see a cupcake until....okay, today.  My mind is on cupcakes.  It's always on cupcakes! :) 

But this time of year, I'm thinking of summer, picnics, pool treats, BBqs, cook-outs, roasts, etc.....whatever it is--I"m thinking of get togethers and food! :)    This weekend, with it being Memorial Day, we are camping.  I'm also celebrating my son's 7th birthday (We won't be out of state for his birthday in June.

When I have birthday parties for family....I found out that I like to "entertain."  I like making appetizers, and party foods.   Since we are camping, I'm limited to what I can make, but I'm still putting somethings together.  That brings us to What's Cooking Wednesday!!  Hopefully you will find a simple recipe for the upcoming holiday weekend.

 First up, I LOVE fresh fruits and dip.  I've had several dips, but this is my favorite fruit dip.  I made it YEARS ago when I was in 4-H.  (I won with it YAY!)  For those of you that follow me on FB, you've already seen this picture.  For those of you that haven't, ignore my fancy china!  :)

Fruit Dip

1 box of instant pudding mix (I like french vanilla or cheesecake)

1 (8 oz.) container of cool whip, thawed (frozen whipped topping)

1 c. sour cream

1 c. milk

Mix milk and pudding mix together.  Add sour cream.  Stir well.  Fold in whipped topping Store in refrigerator.  Serve with fresh fruit.  

*Fruits I like with this (They are all easy to dip) :  

Strawberries, apples, bananas, grapes, pears

Cucumber Sandwiches!!

These are a perfect treat.  I LOVE Them, but don't fix them often because I don't want it to get "old".  I can only handle so many of them, and get togethers are a perfect time!

Picture Source-This Week for Dinner

1 (8 oz.) block cream cheese

1 pkg. Italian Dressing Mix

Cucumbers, thinly sliced

Bread--I like Rye, or sweet bread in from our grocery store 

(I like using something that is small to cut into slices so that I don't have a lot of bread taking over the taste.)

Dill Weed

Melt cream cheese just a bit to make it easy to stir. Stir in the dressing mix.  Spread onto the bread slices.  Top with a cucumber and sprinkle dill weed on top.

Ever heard of Gorp?

This was one of my favorite things as a kid when we'd go camping.  It's so simple-and cheaper than buying a trail mix. I took it camping with us Mother's Day Weekend, and it was a hit.  I was surprised that others hadn't heard it or made it before (but this was also the first time I made it for my family.)  I don't have a picture of it---BUT

I did a google search, and here's one similar. 

Source

What I put in mine:

*Lucky Charms (it's what mom used to use when we were little--and I think it was my brother's favorite cereal way back when)

*Honey Dry Roasted Peanuts

*Raisins

*Reese Pieces

*M & Ms

Pour in the cereal first, then add the other ingredients.  That simple.  I actually had my kids do it last week before we left.  We didn't measure, we just poured in....of course you probably want more cereal than Reese Pieces (okay maybe not WANT more, but should have more!) :)

And what's a post without a sweet treat?

I didn't have a picture of this "cheeseball" so the source of the picture is HERE.

This is a peanut butter cheeseball.  I've made it for birthday parties before and LOVE it.

You need:

1 (8 oz) block cream cheese

1 to 1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

3/4 to 1 c. peanut butter

3 T.brown sugar

1 to 1 1/2 c. peanut butter chips

1 to 1 1/2 c. milk chocolate chips

Mix the first 4 ingredients together.  Place the mixture into the center of a sheet of Saran Wrap.  Form into a ball shape, and twist the corners together as you wrap it.  Place it in the freezer for about an hour and fifteen minutes. Mix together your peanut butter chips and milk chocolate chips.  Unwrap the ball and roll it into the chips, and using your hands to help cover the peanut butter "cheeseball."  Serve with graham crackers, or apples.  

Both are good with it. 

 

End of the Year Tips for Teachers

As most of us are winding down our days, I thought I'd go through what I've found to be helpful for me at the end of the year.

1) When you inventory your textbooks (if you have them), keep a copy for yourself and put it a folder.  Label your folder End-of-The-Year or something simple even like, Inventory.  Keeping a copy of this for yourself will help you with your inventory the following year.  If you don't let kids take books out of the classroom, chances are your book inventory will remain the same. Also, when going through your books, sort them. Keep all like books together. 

2) Don't be an out of sight, out of mind person.  That was me a few years ago.  I was SOOOO Ready for summer.  As long as my counters were cleaned off, and nothing was in my student's desks, I didn't care WHERE I shoved things.....until I came back in to prep my room for Back to School. EGADS!  Take a few minutes to put things back at the end of the year.  Make your craft supply cabinet neat, your bookshelves neat, etc.  I even try to do this at the end of every day.  As my students pack up, I tidy up the room.  It helps me keep things organized.  Seeing how I never know when I need a sub (with a 11 year old and a 6 year old---they do get sick).  If I know where everything is at, I can easily tell my sub where to find things too.

3) If you haven't used it---toss it or give it away.  Do you realize that teachers can be quite the group of hoarders/pack rats?  It's hard knowing what to pitch and what to keep.  Trust me, I still have 4th-6th grade things and I truly should give them away because LORD help me if I can keep from it, I won't go back.  Not to mention through the years I've discovered blogs and TpT.  I could get rid of that MASSIVE Rubbermaid Tote of things, and maybe help a new teacher in the way.  That's my end of the year goal---see if I follow through and hold me accountable someone, please! :)

4) As you're going through your things, consider putting them into monthly binders.  Start a binder/folder for each Month.  Place your reproducibles, craft ideas, story ideas, centers, etc. into one binder.  This will make easy prep for you for next year.

5) I have labeled my room in years past--including my filing cabinet.  I do this so that my coworkers, subs, etc. can find things in my room.  My room is kind of a you can borrow from me if you want.  I label my classroom book bins too so that everyone can find things.  When you're packing up, maybe this is something you'd want to consider.  For example, I have all of my phonics worksheets/sorts in folders.  Each folder is labeled with its own specific skill.  short vowel a, long i/silent e, digraphs, r- blends---you get the idea.  I also have Mailbox books and other teacher resources that I've purchased through the years.  I put them all in a filing cabinet drawer together.  Below that, I have all of my reading/language skills labeled in folders (main idea, cause/effect, etc) and in that drawer I have my writing resources as well.  I've done this for math, science and social studies too.  Labeling it all has also helped me REMEMBER what I do have. 

6) Let your students help out with cleaning up. They enjoy taking ownership of their classroom too.  Let them dust your bookshelves, and make sure that books are back in the proper bins.  Let them erase your boards, and pitch markers that are dried up. Have them put together puzzles and check out to see if you have pieces missing from inside recess games.
**I usually do this on one of the last two days of school.  I don't have a lot of students that show up after our Memorial Day holiday. 

7) If you have to draw a diagram of your room....take a photo of it. It helps the janitors know how to set things back up.

8) Reflect back on your year.  Think about the progress that was made with each student.  For me, it's been a challenge this year.  But when I think about the student that only knew 5 sight words at the beginning of the year, and didn't recognize letter sounds...and is now reading at the end of a first grade level...well, it really puts things back into perspective with why I do what I do! 

9) Finally, if you are super organized----start on next year.  Sometimes it's nice to have writing journals, or personal dictionaries ready to go.  Even a simple coloring sheet for them to use their brand new school supplies on is nice to have on hand.  If you make mini-offices, this would be a good time to laminate them.  Me--I'm not that organized, but I hope to get there someday! :)

Do you have any other tips or advice for teachers packing up at the end of the year.  Leave your idea in the comments! :)

End of the year---with subs

So, here it is the end of the year coming to a halt.  We're wrapping up with review, we've finished our Treasures stories......and now we're doing assessing. Friends, let me tell you about my day---we are doing one-on-one assessing for state data.  (I'm not sure what it's for or why, just told that we have to do it.)  They got us subs so we can do it.  The state allotted about 85 minutes PER child for these tests (that I was just given last week).  Luckily, it isn't really taking them that long, but it's still taking 20-30 minutes per kiddo.  I started today and only got through 9 (and a half) tests.  EGADS!  They are getting us subs for Wednesday too, and I sure hope I can finish because somewhere in there I have to give a state writing test too.  Friends, I have 7---SEVEN days left.  End of the year paperwork is NOT my favorite thing to do.    I also think it drove my kiddos crazy that I was in the building, but not in there with them.  My little sweeties were asking me if I'd be there tomorrow (which I'm out for other reasons--and then a sub again on Wednesday for more tests.)  OY!  Okay, rant over.

So in the process of all this, I needed to create something for my subs to do AND I had to share one of my favorite stories---AND since camping is one of my favorite things (Can't wait for a long camping weekend!!)  this book is PERFECT for me! :) (Okay, that was a really long sentence and a complete run-on---ignore the grammar, have I mentioned I'm pooped lately? lol)

I love this story.  I actually love rhyming stories because they are fun to read, and my kiddos like to chime in when I'm reading if they think they know the word.  I made a few things to go with this to make a little mini-lesson on common/proper nouns, and a few writing prompts.  

First up, a prediction page.  This is good to use in two spots of the story.

It can be used when the bear is sneaking up on the camper where he spies a bag of marshmallows, 

or the page where he sees the camper in the stream.  

 Then after reading the story, they can write about their favorite part.

You could use this quick little comprehension page to check their listening comprehension.

If you'd like to extend the story into a common and proper noun review, here's a quick little whole group activity with a student worksheet.

 Maybe you want to check their background knowledge of camping, here's a writing activity for that too.

The great graphics are from Pink Cat and Scrappin Doodles.

If you'd like to grab you a copy of these activities, you can click HERE!

Also, don't forget about my Splash into Summer Centers.

I'm trying to help a coworker raise money for her mission trip by selling this set..

Proceeds go directly to her (100% donation).  

You can click HERE if you would like to check out how you can grab my summer set.

Have a great week!! :)

 

Summertime

Ahh, yes.  It's almost upon us now.  I can feel my toes in the sand, and a cold TEA in my hand! I am looking forward to a few days of sleeping in too.  BUT, reality is I still have a few more days of school left.


 I think my firsties are feeling it too.  I wanted to keep them engaged with literacy centers, as I still have running records and other one-on-one assessments to give.  SOO---I looked for some adorable summer graphics and came up with this CUTE set!!

This set includes:

Cause/Effect

Compound Words

Contractions with is and not

Sight Word Game

Plurals with s and es

Journal Prompts with a Word Bank of pictures

There is a recording sheet or worksheet for each activity except the Sight Word Game.

A lot of you follow me on FB, so you may know my intentions of this packet. 

I think I am truly blessed in life.   These two quotes are perfect for me right now! :)

I feel it's my turn to pay it forward.  

One of my coworkers is going on a missionary trip. 

Both my coworker, and her husband have been accepted to attend a Discipleship Training School (DTS) through Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in Kona, Hawaii. They will be attending the Compassion Ablaze DTS. This DTS is a little over 5 months long where they will be equipped and released into the nations to reach out to the lost and broken with the compassion of Jesus. The focus of this DTS is on bringing restoration to orphans, woman at risk, the poor, and those facing injustice while also bringing revival through worship and intercession.  

In order for her to do such great services, they need to raise money to sponsor the trip.  I thought I'd try to see if there's something I could do to help.  I'm  asking for a $5 donation to be sent to the paypal account below in exchange for the summer packet.

bethelcorey@yahoo.com 

When you've sent payment, would you please email me at mrsdeannedavis@hotmail.com with your paypal account name?  I will send out your packet as quickly as I can (hopefully within 24 hours, though I hope sooner).  This offer will stay in effect until 5/30/2013.  

I appreciate your willingness to help me help my friend.  

Thanks so much!!  

Question:
How do I use paypal for an email address? 

Login to your PayPal account.  Once logged in you will see blue tabs at the top of your page.  Click the blue tab that says send money.  Enter the email address, and $5.00 as the amount.
 **Though I am sending you a product in exchange for your donation, please don't click on goods/services.  If you would please choose sending money to family or friends--and opt to use your PayPal balance/bank account or cover the 36 cents for the paypal fee. Remember this is a donation and I don't want them to have to cover the costs.  Thanks so much!