It's My Birthday One Day Sale!!

Today is my 44th (there, I said it!!) birthday.  To celebrate I'm having a one day sale in my TpT store.

 I'm offering 20% off everything! 

Reminding students to think!

I have a class full of above grade level readers this year.  They can decode anything!  Sometimes this can be a problem.  Often we forget that decoding doesn't necessarily me comprehending.  Even the best readers need to be reminded to think while reading.  This is one of my favorite strategies to model.  I made cards to hold up in my classroom to remind students to stop, think, and question during independent reading time.
I display this card when I want students to read:

I hold up this card when I want students to stop and write what they're thinking:

I hold up this card when I want students to stop and ask a question about what they're reading:

I also made a tri fold to display during reading groups:

I made this card to display when students are reading with a buddy:

And finally, I hold up this card when I want students to stop and talk with their buddy:

The cards have worked really well this week!  Here are two students stopping and thinking during reading group...

These cards along with an included worksheet for students to write their thoughts and questions are available in my TpT store.

Currently September

September is one of my favorite months!  Generally I'm three weeks into the school year and feeling comfortable.  It's my birthday month (44 years young this year!).  Fall is right around the corner.  I'm linking up with Farley at Oh' Boy Fourth Grade for Currently September.

Love...
One of the things I miss most about going back to school is the Today Show.  It's my time to catch up, drink a chai tea, and relax before the others in my house wake up.  Since it's Labor Day, I'm enjoying my summer morning routine!!
Loving...
My new shoes!  I ordered myself a pair of Tieks as a back to school gift for myself.  I love cute shoes and it's always a bonus if they're comfy!!  I bought my Tieks in Metallic Pewter and I'm in L.O.V.E.
They are so cute, comfy and go with everything!

Here I am wearing my Tieks for "payday jeans" Friday.  The top I'm wearing is Matilda Jane, another of my new favorites!

Thinking...

I have so much on my to do list!  As I got ready to leave school on Friday I told myself to go straight home and conquer the bag.  Of course I didn't.  So now it's Monday and I'm feeling a little panicked!!  Oh, well.  It's not like it's going anywhere.

Wanting...

A fenced backyard!!  My crazy dog is constantly leaving the yard to visit the neighbors or anyone else who walks by our house.  We have never had this problem with any of our other golden retrievers.  Moby is just so friendly!!  It is such a pain to have to stay outside with him when all he wants to do is be outside.  If we had a fenced yard, all of our lives would be so much easier.  Speaking of Moby, did I tell you he's friendly?  Here he is watching me play Hooked on Words.  He also is so unaware of his size!!

Needing...

To plan ahead!  I feel like I live day to day the first few weeks of school year.  This happens every year and has for the last 20 years.  You would think I would have some type of back to school plan for handling everything.

The three things I hope to accomplish this month...

1. I ran a marathon and gave up running.  It's starting to show.  My hope is to get back into a twice a week running schedule.

2. I never plan ahead (see Needing).  I've decided to have a weekly M-F menu.  Same dinner each night of the week, every week.  I'm hoping this will help with stress and our health.  We eat out way too much!

3. Finish a book!  I started reading Gone Girl earlier this summer and still haven't finished!  I WILL finish this book this week!

On another happy note, I finally finished a new product!!!  I've had a list of jar activities to make for comprehension skills and strategies for months now.  I completed an Author's Purpose Jar yesterday.  You can check it out here.

(and the good thing is... it's free for the next 15 minutes!!  Please leave some feedback and let me know what you think!)

I'm working on a Numeration Jar and Inferring Jar.  Hopefully they'll be ready by the weekend!