Step Away From Your Computer!

Have you heard of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)?  I'm pretty sure as teachers, we experience this on a daily basis.  Who wants to miss a great idea that is being shared on Pinterest or a flash freebie on Facebook?  I don't know about you, but I have a very difficult time shutting down my computer or not looking at my phone every little bit.  

However, I have 2 children who are both in college.  I blinked and they grew up.  So, I know our family time isn't as plentiful as it used to be and it will probably be less in the future. This summer, my husband and I are trying to spend as much time as we can with our kids and to be more present during that time. So instead of FOMO this summer, my family is trying to GOMO (going out more often). It isn't easy to find things to do with a teenager and a twenty-something, but we are trying.

We have attended an outdoor program at the art museum that is close by us.  We went with my sisters and their families.

We also visited a part of Ann Arbor (a little over an hour away from us) called Kerrytown. We had an awesome brunch while there and browsed some of the little shops. (Google is your friend.  I found this gem while searching for places to visit in Ann Arbor.)

Flea markets are also a fun place to visit.  We went to a large one at Shipshiwana in Indiana.  I found some great early readers to use in my classroom.

Picnics are a great way to spend time together.  My family and I went to a park that we hadn't been to before.  It was about an hour away.  We bought some Subway and enjoyed some downtime together and nature.

Since our summer isn't over, we are hoping to visit some more places close by in the near future.

I have recently checked out the website Eventbrite. They are promoting the idea of GOMO. It looks like a great website to look for events to go to with my kids.

Not to mention, if you are interested in creating your own event, you can also do that by checking out Eventbrite!

I know as a teacher, it is difficult to turn off you computer, tablet, phone or teacher brain.  But make sure you try to GOMO and relax this summer with your family.  

Thank you for stopping by my little blog!

A Makeover and A Freebie

So, don't faint, but I am actually blogging.  I'm not sure why I stopped blogging. Life has just gotten busy and time has gotten away from me.  I sent my youngest to college this past year and adjusting to that seemed to take up a lot of my time.  But I am back.

I have actually found time this summer to begin working on remaking some of my first products that I created. Hopefully, they will look better.  After looking through my TpT store, I was embarassed about how some of my products looked.  I had created them with Word instead of Powerpoint.  So I decided to recreate them in Powerpoint.  I have finished my first product makeover.  It is the featured product in my store and a freebie, so I thought I should begin with that one.

It is a graphing activity.  The students graph their favorite type of apple.  I realize that graphing isn't in the Common Core standards for kindergarten. However, my students take the MAP test from NWEA. I was surprised how many questions about graphing that there were on that test.  I don't believe in teaching to the test, but if I can have my students do some activities that help them to do better, I try to do that.  Besides, when they are graphing they are still counting with one-to-one correspondence, writing numbers and telling more than and less than.  All of those things are objectives that I am supposed to be teaching. So by using graphing in my classroom, I am getting a two-for-one deal.  (Kinda like shopping at Kohl's)

Here is the freebie if you would like to get it for your classroom:

Click here to get the freebie.

I hope you like it and can use it in your classroom.  Be sure to watch for my more updates to my product.

Thank you for stopping by my little blog.