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Whew! It's been Crazy! Five for Friday

You can follow Tracy at her new blog: The Knit Wit Teacher

To say the last month has been busy would be an understatement! Now that I'm on fall break I have the time to catch you up on everything that has been going on in 4th grade.

When I last blogged I told you about how my room was having mold issues. I'm happy to report that I now have tile in my classroom!!!! The old smelly carpet is gone and in it's place is this beautiful tile floor.

I can't tell you the difference it has made. I'm breathing so much easier now. I haven't had to use my inhaler once since the carpet has been taken out.

Going from carpet to tile has made my room look amazing. Check out the difference!

 

I've had the tile for a few weeks now and I'm still marveling at the difference. My room smells so nice now and the tile really brightens it up. I'm simply in love. 

That being said, I have now moved everything out of my classroom and back into my classroom 4 times since school started! But it was completely worth it so I don't mind a bit. 

When I haven't been moving my room I've slowly been working on Math Vocabulary Cards. I finally finished these up today. Thank goodness for Fall Break! 

192 math vocabulary cards as of today! It took many late nights to get these babies finished but I'm happy with the final product. Hopefully my kiddos love them as much as I do. 

I've also been working on making sight words flash cards for Owyn and Gavin. Now, I know these aren't 4th grade material but they turned out so cute I had to share. 

Don't you just love those fall colors! My dear friend Jena from Sew Much Music made them. I've fallen in love with all things fall at the moment. If you'd like this clipart set grab it below.  

I had my first Mommy freak out over a book my 8 year old daughter Leah was reading this week. She was reading The Summer of Moonlight Secrets by Danette Hawworth. It was a 4.0 reading level and looked to be right up her alley.

We were discussing it one night and she started telling me she didn't understand what was going on because it kept switching. I started flipping through the book and realized she meant the POV of the person speaking kept changing between characters. No biggie. I started reading and talking with her about the book and then I came across this passage:

“ She looks up at me, causing my heart to race, but I’m not nervous. A sure current pulses through my body and I feel like I’m on another planet. I reach out and smooth her hair like I’d wanted to the other day. When my hand touches her through, I feel her beating as fast as mine. 

I kiss her. Oh, my God, I kiss her. Her lips are soft and strawberry and her arms go around my neck. It’s better than I ever imagined, and it’s over way too soon. 

The next breath I take is pure satisfaction. My eyelids feel heavy. I look at her and smile. “You’re so pretty.” I want to stroke her hair, touch her cheek. I want to kiss her again." (p.144)

Now, I have no problem reading romance books. I actually read them all the time. The wording of this passage was a bit much for my 8 year old though. I stopped her reading the book because I was unsure of what was to come.  I then questioned if that was the right choice. What do you think? It that appropriate for an 8 year old? 

After I stopped her reading of The Summer of Moonlight Secrets I had Leah start reading The Doll People by Ann M. Martin. If you don't have this series in your classroom you must add it to your collection. Such a cute read. It grabbed Leah's interest from the start and she read it in 3 days. She's now on book 2 and loving it as well. 

I just finished up my first quarter in 4th grade and I have to say it's been an eye opening experience. Stay tuned for my thoughts...

-Tracy