May 2015

Thanks to ELA Buffet and Desktop Learning Adventures for hosting another great Secondary Smorgasboard Blog Hop - I always love reading everyone's posts!

My Summer Plans!

We're Hittin' the Road - I happen to be married to the world's most organized man... he starts planning our summer adventures in the fall! In fact this summer's vacation plans have been booked since early January! He also does a ton of research into where we're going, what we can do, restaurants to check out... I basically pack my bags and just make sure I'm ready on time! Our "big" trip this summer is to California - one of our favourite destinations!! We're flying down and then driving Hwy 101 along the coast! Can't wait!!

Vineyards of BC's Wine Region.

We've also got some smaller weekend trips planned to some local get away spots along Vancouver's gorgeous coastline and a trip up to British Columbia's wine country for a little relaxing! Here's a pic from the B&B we stayed at on our last trip there... views of the lake were wonderful! We had a very relaxing week there biking, hiking and wine tasting - can't wait to go again.

Hiking, Biking, Adventuring - I'm so lucky to live in Vancouver! We're steps from the beach and a few minutes drive to the mountains... there's never nothing to do. We love to hike and bike the Coast Mtns. and enjoy all that greater Vancouver has to offer. As well, the city has a fantastic sea wall that goes around the entire coastline for over 22km - and it's beautiful. We separate lanes for walking and biking it's a buzz of activity... and I LOVE it!!

English Bay, Vancouver, BC

Reading, Relaxing, Writing, Relaxing and Gardening - can't wait to catch up on some summer reading, create some new TpT products, plan for my classes next year, and spend some time in the garden! I'm also going to plunk myself on a beach, with a book, as often as I can!

What about you? What are your big summer plans?!

An InLinkz Link-up

The end is near... well.. it might be for some of you... but it isn't for me. I work right up until the end of June, but we don't start back up until the first week of September so it all works out in the end!

I've teamed up with some other TpT sellers to offers tips on how to survive those last few weeks of school. I know how hard it can be to keep our students focused on learning when the sun is shining and the lure of summer freedom is just around the corner. Thanks to Kristy at 2 Peas and a Dog for hosting again!

Here are some ways I "Calm the Chaos" and the "End of Year Wiggles" that seem to infect my students every year.

1. Mixing it Up
I like to mix it up a lot more than I do at the start of the year. By now my students and I know each other, they've hopefully mastered my class routines and we're into a groove. Although it may seem counterintuitive, I actually like to give them a little more freedom at the end of the year. It's their reward for all their hard work. I play a few more "games" (my fancy word for review activities - it's all in how you sell it!) and I play a bit more music and I give them more choices.

2. Grooving to the Tunes
As I mentioned above, I play more music in class towards the end of the year... and if I can theme it around something we're studying or reviewing that's an extra bonus! For example, I'm teaching a poetry unit right now and it's easy to use music to teach figurative language. I also teach science and we're studying weather and climate - it's amazing how many songs have lyrics about clouds, the sun, the rain and thunder... it's a fun activity to brainstorm titles as a class.

3. Review Extravaganza!
Like many of your students, my kids are required to write final exams so I spend significant time at the end of the year helping them get organized and prepared. Here's a FREE review activity that works for ANY subject!! Click the image below to grab a copy!