Cardinal Directions

Here are some short and sweet cardinal direction signs to brighten up your space. Enjoy!

- Amanda

Getting ready...

Feeling busy. Here's what's been up instead of blogging:

To become my "Wow Work!" picture frame

To be cut, laminated, cut again for my new washroom system

Numbers for around my clock

Door display - circus theme

Miscellaneous. And files I have not sifted.

More details to follow. Maybe when my perma-cramp from using scissors subsides. :)

-Amanda

Morning Meeting Friday Freebie

 I'm excited for the new school year! New ideas, new group, and a better grasp on a new teaching philosophy {Whole Brain Teaching}. I love all this change! We leave for Kuwait on Friday night for a week of set-up and meetings before classes begin on Sunday the 2nd. Only one week to set up my room - eek! BUT, in fairness, this is only about a THOUSAND times better than last year! Because of visa issues and a torn rotator cuff {Jeff is an energetic golfer haha} we could only arrive in Kuwait the day before school started. The day before! Now that - that! - was crazy. So I'm really looking forward to having some time to be calm and set up my room for this year.

One thing I am really looking forward to is implementing my Morning Meeting. I was looking for a way to help better build community among my students, and after seeing this video, I almost immediately started creating a simple Morning Meeting package to meet my needs.

I always thought Morning Meeting was a glorified calendar routine used in Kindergarten or Grade One classrooms as a way to help kids start each day fresh with a solid understanding of the steps to come next. This video deals with an older grade level, and it totally inspired me. Our Morning Meeting will look something like this:

1. Star Student leads class in Classroom Rules chant and gestures using a voice of choice.

2. Students greet one another in another language from those we've learned. I like this step because I teach in a bilingual school and gives students choice.

3. Star Student tells class how he/she is feeling with some "different" words using posters as reference. He/she then asks three friends "How are you feeling?"

4. Star chooses a question from the Question Jar, reads it aloud, answers for the class, and then asks three different friends to answer it. Questions include everything from "What's your favourite _____" to "If you met a monster/alien, what would you say?"

5. Students interact in a News sharing time led by our Star. I want the students to have some time to talk about life - either in class or at home - to help share feelings, and to gain a sense of empathy.

6. Last, since I'm using a clip chart in my room again, the Star will confer with me on three students that have been showing respect and following classroom rules to be the first to move their clip up for the day.

And so, since it's Friday and I just want to share this package with everyone, I'm linking up for my first ever

If you're interested, you can pick up my package HERE on Google Docs.

Enjoy and I'd love if you'll let me know what you think if you download - feedback and suggestions always welcome here!

- Amanda

Oh happy day!

This summer, I had the best day of my life. On July 21 Jeff and I were married in a simple, outdoor, evening ceremony with our closest friends and family - and then we partied hard with all of them! We played our own music and had a friend step in as DJ {many many thanks, Alex!}, decorated the venue, personalized our seating arrangement, and I even made my own bouquet - nothing fancy but that's the way I like it. The bonus part? I wasn't stressed at all on the day! I feel it must be because it is completely natural - a next step - to marry the one that makes me laugh, rubs my shoulders through stressful times, lets me cry, and allows me to be only me. 

After the perfect vows, a first married kiss, newlywed photos, some hors d'oeuvres and a little wine, we basically hit the dance floor for several hours of fantastic music. Do I call it fantastic because I had a part in creating the list? A little bit, yeah! I do thank my dear new husband for spending hours fretting over song placement and creating a perfect genre mix to please everyone from 18 to 83! In fact, if you'd like a peak at the wedding playlist {for which we received TONS of great compliments!} I'll be happy to set you up with the playlist if you have of your own events coming ip! It was a beautiful night and one great party.

I just love this handsome man!

A Peruvian Honeymoon

I'm sure you'll all excuse me for my lack of posts this summer - with our wedding and honeymoon I haven't had a lot of time to keep up! I am only now cracking down on my real planning for the new school year. That's a lot of catching up I want to do...
Jeff and I returned last week from our two and a half weeks in Peru, which we both agree was a great honeymoon choice. This country is so beautiful! Low sweeping valleys topped with snow-capped peaks and a fantastic sunset really can't be beat, I've learned. We did a more traditional tour, sticking mostly to the south and then {of course} heading up to Machu Picchu. 

We saw so many great things! Penguins, sea lions and pelicans in Paracas, the beautifully ornate and centuries-old Cathedral of Santo Domingo in Cusco, the floating reed islands of Lake Titicaca, and the perfectly-formed active volcano El Misti in Arequipa. {And plenty more!}

As it's called, the culinary scene in Peru is quite spectacular - especially, in my opinion, in Cusco. This is the trip during which my husband and I realized {admitted?} that we are "food travelers," so to speak. We had everything from red wine sorbet {Amazing! Will be looking out for a recipe.} to guinea pig {not so much}, and squid-ink pasta with coconut milk, lemongrass and prawns {double amazing!} to the beloved Peruvian pisco sour. Pisco is a locally-made grape brandy {that I don't much care for}, and the drink is made with a bar mix, some sugar, and frothy egg white on the top. Had to try it, though! Mostly, we had fantastic food - I was more than impressed. We had ceviche {I'll try to share our recipe a little later - it's super easy to make and great as a salsa}, a whiskey-drenched brownie topped with chocolate mousse and house-made mint jellies, and awesome bacon avocado sandwiches. I love how creative people get with food...especially since I am not. At all.

Basically, I can't wait to go back to South America! We skipped the Amazon this time because everything was a bit tight time-wise for medication. But we can always get there through Brazil or a longer time in Colombia on another trip! I have to say, being a teacher offers lots of room to explore this great world of ours, and being married to a teacher means I can share it with all with my best friend and the greatest travel companion.

One more week until we go back to Kuwait... I'm still working on a few things I want to share on TpT and TN, including my circus-themed Morning Meeting package. I'm really excited to implement this in my classroom, as I think a morning sharing time will really help to foster that classroom community I so wish for. We still have a lot of celebrating, visiting, organizing, shopping and packing to do before we go. For now I'm off to strike some things from the list... Thanks for reading!
- Amanda

Sale!

Back from Peru {best.honeymoon.ever!} and was finally able to join up for the TpT back to school sale! Enjoy 20% off in my shop today and tomorrow. I know I'll be doing some shopping today...

I'll be back with what will probably be some rather lengthy posts about our wedding and honeymoon. Happy shopping for now!
- Amanda

One more thing

Since I'm posting immediately after the last write-up, I figure this isn't double-posting. Right? Hmm.
Just thought I'd throw it out there that I put my Plural Posters on TpT and TN for easy download. Of course, they`re still free.
Find them free at TPT here:

and free at TN here:

No more posts, I promise :)
- Amanda

Nothing educational here...

Wedding countdown is on! Only five more days :) Here are a couple photos of things that are happening:

The lovely wedding day shoes. Yep, they're tall. I have a pair of flats to switch into when I get that foot ache.

Jeff and I made this together for our seating arrangement. Instead of having numbered tables, we are labeling them by countries we have visited together - nine tables in all. I made luggage tags with guest's names to hang beside this so they know to which country they are travelling for the evening. Still some finishing touches to add, but I think it turned our pretty great.

That's all! Happy Monday.

- Amanda

Math Centers with a Circus Theme

They're up:

Fact Family cards with worksheet to record answers

Commutative Property Cards with True/False headings and three different sorting mats to be used with manipulatives:

Addition with regrouping cards and worksheet to record answers

Time to the half hour cards and one page of "challenge cards" {time to the quarter hour} with worksheet where students draw the hands of the clock to match the digital time shown

Addition to 10 concentration game

Find this set here

and here

I will be bundling this set with my Circus Theme Literacy Centers soon - among all the DIY projects on the go for our upcoming wedding :)

Again, I'm happy and surprised! Thank you thank you to Susie Q for awarding my humble blog with...

This award is named for the German word "Liebster," which translates to "beloved" or "favourite", and it is given to "new, up and coming bloggers." 
I love it! It's so easy to wonder, "How come I only have xx followers? Shouldn't I have more?" But I'm resolving to start thinking, "Wow! I have xx people reading my blog? I wonder who they are and how they found me..."  At any rate, I'm feeling the love and I'm just happy to have this place to share and swap ideas.
The rules:

1. Link back to the person who gave it to you.

2. Post the award to your blog.

3. Give the award to at least 5 bloggers with less than 200 followers.

4. Leave a comment on the 5 blogs to let them know that they have been offered this award.

I've chosen to give this award to:

Linda at Around the Kampfire

Storie at Stories by Storie

Jamie at Bright Concepts 4 Teachers

Aimee at Pencils, Books & Dirty Looks

Cindy at Primary Reading Party

I hope all of you enjoy this as much as I do!

Quickly, a little freebie for all. I had one student who broke his arm on the playground and missed an entire quarter in this last school year. I had no idea he would miss that much school and didn't even know for the first two weeks that a broken arm was the reason. I phoned home everyday but never got an answer {oh, Kuwait} and the school nurse didn't inform me {oh, Kuwait}. When I finally spoke with his mother, she said her son had a doctor's note excusing him from the rest of the school year {oh, Kuwait!}. And then, I find out, she's a teacher at a government school! Oh. Kuwait. Apparently the last quarter wasn't as important as the first three haha. At any rate, with high hopes I had made this form to document important work and assessment he was missing. 

In the end, I gave up on this form and had four typed pages of missed work for the student. Click the picture to grab this free from my TN shop. I hope it can help!

- Amanda

Award and More Recipes

This will be a bit of a long post, but there are great things all around: I received a great award and the recipes I'm posting are A LOT lighter than the last one :P {That's for you, Barbara!}

Big thanks to Tori at Tori's Teacher Tips for thinking of me when giving out this award:

!!!!!

I love being a part of the blogging community and think it helped me tremendously throughout my first year of teaching and will for the next thirty years! Thank you, Tori!

The rules:

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you.  Of course! Huge thanks, seriously.

2. Include a link to their site. I heart Tori's blog. Have a look around.

3. Include the award image in your post. Got it.

4. Give 7 random facts about yourself. See below.

5. Nominate 15 other bloggers for the award. So many fantastic bloggers.

6. When nominating, include a link to their site. 

7. Let other bloggers know they've been nominated. 

Random Facts:
1. My dearest friend, Jessie, has been my best friend since Kindergarten.
2. I have suddenly developed allergies {I don't know to what exactly but not to any foods - phew!} and for someone that L.O.V.E.S. summer, this is the worst.
3. I have been asked to run a workshop for Math and Literacy Centers for our teacher orientation in August. I'm nervous and excited to map out a plan for this.
4. Right now I'm wearing my new Merrell "Barefoots." They are the lightest footwear I've ever owned. Okay, so because it's like walking on bare feet and most of us usually don't, I have to "break them in." Which sounds weird, I know, but its important for my muscles. Jeff and I ended up getting the same pair {plain black} because we do so much wandering when we travel.

5. One of my favourite shows is HGTV's House Hunters International. We have a bit of a dream to one day own income property overseas.

6. I just ordered dozens of white roses for our wedding day, which is coming up SUPER fast {July 21} and I could not be more happy and excited about. I am also working on some white hydrangeas. Gotta keep it simple for an evening wedding :)
7. I find it annoying that my blog posts are filled with so many different fonts, when I specifically have only one chosen for my template. Not as techy as I wish I was!

I'm now giving the award to: 
1. Susie at Learning with Susie Q {Susie is one of my most supportive followers and she has great ideas to share!}
2. Erin at First with Franklin {She's having a giveaway right now in honour of 100 followers}
3. 1st Grade Hip Hip Hooray 
4. Jacque at Mommy & Me Creations
5. Brittany at Sweet Seconds
6. Casey at Second Grade Math Maniac
7. Heather at Second Grade Perks
8. Kimberlee at Teacher Time Savers
9. Nicole at Mrs. Rios Teaches Second Grade
10. Stephanie and Jamie at Prayers and Purple Elephants
11. Barbara at Grade ONEderful {She already has this award of course but she is such a great bloggy friend that I just need to show some appreciation! And she's Canadian!}
12. Alessia at Mrs. Albanese's Kindergarten Class {Another fellow Canadian!}
13. Jenny at Luckeyfrog's Lilypad
14. Amanda {great name! hah} at Reaching for the Top! Ms. Wilkie's Second Grade Class.
And last, but most certainly not least, my absolute favourite teacher in the entire world:
15. Jeff at A New Classroom! He started his blog just a bit ago and is creating a very detailed game-based system for teaching his grade eight class next year. Go check it out if you'd like a fresh perspective on teaching middle school.

Now on to the food.

So this long weekend friends of mine hosted a three-bride {myself and two other good friends} bachelorette party at Blue Mountain and it was SO great! We have a great group of friends that we met while teaching in Korea and I'm so thankful for such a helpful, supportive and loving bunch. I made snacks to hold us over between meals and they were all a big hit. *CLICK ANY OF THE PICTURES OR THE TITLES TO GO STRAIGHT TO THE RECIPE* I highly recommend everything I made: 

Roasted Tomato and Garlic Salsa from Mama Loves Food - make it as spicy {or not} and as chunky {or not} as you'd like. The key is in roasting the veggies. It was definitely like restaurant salsa.

Olive Tapenade with fresh French bread - This was SO EASY to make! Just put all ingredients (black olives, green olives, garlic - that's it} into a food processor and voila. Also Delicious and also from Mama Loves Food.

Warm Spinach and Artichoke Dip {one of my favourites!} This recipe is from Chatelaine, one of my favourite "everything" magazines. If I still lived in Canada I'm fairly certain I'd have a subscription.

Goat Cheese and Bacon Balls - from another favourite recipe site, Buns in My Oven. Blended with cream cheese, the strong goat cheese flavour is nice and mild. If you let them sit too long after making, the basil starts to take over the flavour of the bacon, so I guess it's up to you when to eat!
If you need a quick and tasty bbq potluck, try one out. You won't be disappointed!
- Amanda

Simple, easy, delicious chocolate mousse recipe

Who doesn't love "simple" and "easy" when it comes to cooking? I am loving bbq season and was pretty happy yesterday when Jeff decided to make an old favourite - Nigella Lawson's chocolate mousse. It is smooth and cool and dark AND it's made with mini marshmallows! Amazing, right?! It's a perfect way to use up that leftover camping trip stash.

{Recipe and photo source} 

INGREDIENTS

• 150g mini marshmallows {or roughly cut up larger ones}
• 50g soft butter 
• 250g good dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids), chopped into small pieces
• 60ml hot water from a recently boiled kettle
• 1 x 284ml tub double cream {we just use whipping cream}
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

METHOD

Serves: 4-6

1. Put the marshmallows, butter, chocolate and water in a heavy-based saucepan.
2. Put the pan on low-med heat {keep it fairly gentle} to melt the ingredients, stirring every now and again. Remove from the heat.
3. Meanwhile, whip the cream with the vanilla extract until thick, and then fold into the cooling chocolate mixture until you have a smooth, cohesive mixture. Try not to mix too vigorously - folding needs to be  a gentle action!
4. Pour or scrape into 4 glasses or ramekins, about 175ml each in capacity, or 6 smaller (125ml) ones, and chill until you want to eat. If left overnight in the fridge, you are likely to have a more mousse-like texture - if you can stand to leave it that long!

Give it a shot if you're craving something sweet, deep, and chocolatey!

- Amanda

Freebie

Just back in to share a little freebie with you from my Circus Theme Literacy Centers. Grab it from my TpT shop by clicking the image below.

I hope everyone is enjoying summer and *trying* to take a break. I know it's a hard thing to do as teachers!

- Amanda