Missing in Action: "Passion in Portable Land!" Has been Found!!

I'm linking up with Kacey over at Doodle Bugs Teaching! It's only been two months since I've blogged!!  Where have I been? Well...I've been MIA!!

I've noticed a common theme among my favorite bloggers during the first quarter of the new school year.  "Too Busy to Blog!"  Well, I'm no different.  I've been MIA!  Otherwise known as "Missing in Action!"  

Don't get me wrong.  I love blogging and really enjoy reading what is going on with everyone.  However, I  have had to cut myself off in order to live my one word, Balance!  I've been pretty successful with dividing my time up between my family and school, so that means blogging is what gets pushed to the side.  

 This makes me sad because I really enjoy blogging! I have come to realize that I was a little LOT obsessed with the blogging world! found myself spending hours and hours reading, commenting, posting, creating, TpTing, Pinning, etc...

So, this weekend I've decided to add a little blogging world back into my "Balanced" life!  I'll share 2 family and 2 school random things with you!

While M.I.A. I've spent my time with my husband Al!  

We have enjoyed our "Empty Net" which means FREEDOM!  It has been so nice to not have to worry what the kids want or need, and just focus on the two of us!  We eat, drink, and are marry!!  HA! We both teach, so you know that means we are poor and can't quite travel the world just yet.  We did increase our $$ going towards our retirement since we don't have kids to pay for anymore.  We do spend time making plans for our future together.  Where we want to go, see, do!  I love our time together.  It is very romantic and comforting.  

I've been working as busy as a bee at school!  EVERYTHING is new to me this year.  I almost feel like a new teacher.  New school, coworkers, teammates, population of students, parents, new Florida Standards for Reading & Math, new programs, and a whole new teaching style!  I have to be honest, I LOVE my new school and it's vision for our students!  It makes a HUGE difference when your leadership is supportive of teachers and what we have to accomplish is a very short period of time.  

I blogged about starting the Making Meaning Reading Comprehension Program with the Vocabulary Supplement Component from The Developmental Studies Center before I went M.I.A.  I am ecstatic with the results I am seeing with the level and depth of thinking my students are expressing!  I wish I had someone in my classroom that would remember to take pictures of what this looks like, but we are always so deeply involved in our discussions of text we forget to capture it!  I did remember to take a picture of our Reading Community Anchor Charts.  They remind us of what our classroom community should look and act like!

  

After studying & reading DSC- Vocabulary & Word Nerds by Brenda J. Overturf, Leslie H. Montgomery, Margot Holmes Smith,  I was inspired to create a vocabulary journal for my students.  Here is a sneak peak at what it will looks like.  Not quite finished yet...so let me know what you think!

Math instruction has changed the most for me this year.  I'm learning how to teach with more student exploration built into my lessons.  It is challenging for me, but I'm loving the results!!  My district has embraced the Hands-On, Minds-On approach to math instruction.  Many hours of research and planning went into the district Math curriculum map for the 2014-2015 school year.  In my opinion, this year's Math Curriculum Map is by far the BEST I have ever seen or worked with.  Kudos to Volusia County School's K-5 Math Department!! 

Here are some pics of what Math Instruction has looked like in my classroom so far this year.

My fifth random post is about my family.  Mainly my son, Erik.  He graduates next Friday, 10/31/14 from Marine Corp. Boot Camp!  For me, the last 13 weeks have passed by slowly!  It has been absolute torture not being able to see him or even hear his voice.  Erik has written many letters home letting us know how much he LOVES Boot Camp, reporting how time is flying by, and that he can't wait to finally be a Marine!  He also reports how much he has grown, how much he misses us, and that he can't wait to see us again.  We are all proud of him and are bursting with excitement with only 6 more days to go!!  We ordered shirts to wear on Family Day!

Hopefully, I will be able to balance a little blogging into my life now that the first quarter is over.  I miss you all!  I want to hear from you, so send me some love to let me know you are still here too!