We love linking up with Kacey at Doodle Bugs Teaching.
Even if it's Laura's turn and she's a day late, again. Sigh.
It's winter.
The calendar says so.
The big blizzard is evidence.
Texas hasn't gotten the news.
Our temperature ranged from the 40s to the 80s.
We still learned about Polar Bears: Facts and Opinions.
 Polar Bears Facts and Opinions by All Y'all Need
I'm partial to it because my sister created it.
But it really works well with my 2nd-5th grade groups.
Students have to write facts and opinions. Ready-made homework sheet!
The artic students underline words with their sounds. The language students focus on their concepts. The fluency students practice reading.
And all I have to do is copy the page!
Younger students got to enjoy Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?
We got to make animal sounds and work on categories.
And - bonus! My school's library had the big book.
You know - the ginormous 2 x 3 feet books?
And guess what? It came in a big plastic bag with all the toys animals!
Proof that things cycle around.
Even if the packet is older than my licensed assistant.
Just kidding.
But not by much.
I'm also seeing some middle-school students now.
They are all in self-contained rooms, but what a variety of skills and needs!
Nonfiction Texts with ELA Targets from Nicole Allison fit the bill!
I printed out the Polar Bear passages and put them in clear plastic folders.
The students practiced highlighting and searching for information.
Next week, we finally get to see February.
First up is Groundhog Day.
A fun game from Mia McDaniel will be in use! She makes the cutest game boards!
And Growing Kinders has a {free} Groundhog Day book that will be perfect for my younger students!

Wednesday is our 100th Day of School!
My room is in the kindergarten hall, which will be full of streamers, counters, and volunteers.
Super fun!
We'll be playing the 100th Day of School Ask Away.
(Yes, I just printed it out and noticed a typo. We're still using it.)

Happy Groundhog Day, 100th Day of School Day, and whatever else comes your way!

The Frenzied SLPs are veering into the world of work life meets home life.
 All Y'all Need Taco Soup
When I get home, I often want my couch to be my friend, not my kitchen. One of my go-to recipes, especially in the winter, is Taco Soup. It has a lot of ingredients, but as my sister Amy says, if you can brown ground beef and open cans, you can make this. 

Taco Soup
Ingredients:
1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 package taco seasoning
1 can corn
1 can hominy
1 can Ranch-style beans
1 can black beans
1 can diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 can tomato sauce
1 pkg. dry Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix
2 cups water
Optional: Mexican-blend cheese, corn chips, sour cream

Directions:
In a large pot, brown ground beef. Add taco seasoning to meat and stir well. Add all other ingredients. Cans are not drained. Simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Go lay on the couch in between stirs.

To serve: Crush corn chips in a bowl, ladle soup in, and top with cheese and sour cream.

Tip: Keep ingredients on hand to avoid a trip to the grocery store in the cold, which is 40-50 degrees for me because I'm in Central Texas. My brother-in-law said this was the best soup he'd ever had. I hope you enjoy it!

The Frenzied SLPs have even more quick and easy recipes for you! Just click the links below. Thanks to Speech2U, Old School Speech, and Speech Sprouts for their work on this linky!


We love linking up with Kacey at Doodle Bugs Teaching.
Hope you take the opportunity to check out some amazing bloggers this week.

You know we love a TpT sale, right?
This week I am going to share with you some of the purchases I could not resist.
These items went straight from my wish list to my cart.
Just like that.
Does anyone else suffer from Creative Clips addiction?
Count me in that club.
I know I among friends in that club.
I purchased the Valentine Surprise 2016.
On Valentine's Day, I will receive a a special clip art treat from Krista.
I can guarantee it will be absolutely adorable.  
At my school we have a BIG Cinco de Mayo celebration each year.
It is a wonderful holiday for our students and families.
Now, I have some new clip art to use in May.
Both sets are from Educlips.
I purchased two complementary sets.
Set one is Mexico and Set 2 is Cinco de Mayo.
I just might have a clip art addiction.
Especially if you are looking at my purchases from this week's sale.
Well, y'all know I am head over heels for Melonheadz.
Nikki is so sweet and talented.   
She has thousands of clip art choices in her TpT store right now.
This week I could not resist her brand new set, I Can Fly.
And I cannot get enough Valentine's Day clip art.
So, I also purchased Nikki's Valentine's Day 2016 pack.
I wanted to share a fellow Texan with y'all today.
Megan makes a statement with her brand, 
In the past few months, I have used her mini-sets constantly.
I feel bad that the first time I met Megan a couple of years ago, 
I knew her for only from her blog design business.
I was unaware of all of her mini-sets of pure fantastic in her TpT store.
I am featuring a few sets that I own,
even though I did not purchase them all at the recent sale.
Sydney is pinks, greens and zebra print.
Abby is corals, navy and turquoise.
Ruby is reds, pinks and gold.
Quinn is greens, purples and navy.
I mentioned that I was going to spend some time at the movies over Christmas break.
Indeed, I did get to watch quite a few marvelous movies.
Here are two movies that I found to be two-thumbs-up movies.
Spotlight is serious, intense and will break your heart.
The acting...totally impressed with actors Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Liev Schreiber, 
Stanley Tucci and John Slattery.
And Rachel McAdamas is flawless in this film.
If you want to see a beautiful movie, then Brooklyn was made just for you.

We hope you each has a fabulous week!
Enjoy your weekend.
Back in the day, one of our experienced EC teachers had the only Sp Ed computer with a color printer in her room. Best thing ever. I used to go in and use the computer while she was teaching the itty-bitties - just to learn from her! She taught me a lot about extending the use of basic toys.

This bubble chant was one of her favorites, and one of my first Boardmaker creations was a choice board for this activity.

I've updated the project for my students - and as a freebie for you!


Over the break, I started doodling again and forgot how much I love it. I'm also loving my new Tombow Dual Brushes. 


This week, we have been discussing Winter Weather and my kids have flipped over these Elsa gloves that are in our dramatic play center. 


Letter practice has also been extremely fun with our Frozen inspired salt trays. It looks like you are writing on ice! 

These alphabet posters from Curriculum Castle have been one of my favorite things in my classroom. I just love the real pictures and they were so sweet to make a matching alphabet page for my Guided Reading folders! :) 



This week, was my first full week back and I've had a little help from Diet Dr. Pepper. :) 


a Bible verse.
 The Frenzied SLPs
The other day, my sister mentioned a word of the year, which I've heard about but actually haven't done. Then on Instagram, I saw Crazy Speech World's post about a Bible verse of the year. It's one of my favorites, and one I've written for my own children. Plus - the hand lettering! Wow!
Between my sister's search for her word, Crazy Speech World's post, and a Jennie Allen retreat I went to about being obedient rather than searching for balance, I'm trying a Bible verse for helping me to remember my priorities.
This picture will go on my bulletin board so I see it when I look up. Be sure to click on the links below to find out what other SLPs are trying this year to make frenzied SLP lives easier. We would love for you to link up - use the first image and link to The Frenzied SLPs.


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Ready or Not..... 2016 is HERE! 

If you're anything like us, you scribble numerous ideas in your planner to implement next semester or the next school year. I know my planner is filled with "to-do lists." Here are our goals we would like to implement in 2016. 


Amy has decided to start a coding class with a group of first graders in her school. Let me just say, I admire this task Amy is undertaking! The benefits of coding are truly endless. It will strengthen problem-solving skills and prepare our young learners for a technological world. In a post I recently read, Mitchel Resnic explains, "Coding is the new literacy. To thrive in tomorrow's society, young people must learn to design,  create and express themselves with digital technologies." Amy is transforming her library into various forms of literacy to meet the needs of her students' future. 

Laura's goal is to complete speech screenings and discuss concerns with parents and teachers within  one week of getting parent permission. I truly admire specialists and their ability to juggle schedules and deadlines. As a classroom teacher, there are only specific times that I'd like for my kids to be taken away from instruction. I try to be flexible, but it's hard to totally let go of control! Hehe Laura has recently talked about the necessity of faster response time and I can see where that would benefit everyone involved. 

My goal for this semester is manage my schedule better to meet the needs of my kiddos. This year is my first year in Pre Kand to say that I've had to change my routine is an understatement! I have many students that have begun Guided Reading. Since October, I've tried to hold my small group and perform Guided Reading lessons whenever possible. However, I don't feel like it's been as effective as I'd like for it to be. This next semester, my goal is to meet with my Guided Reading small group every day at a specific time. I'm going to set a an alarm on my phone in hopes that it will help me get in a better routine. While I'm running my guided reading group, I will have my other kiddos work on our new class iPads! That way, this time period will act as an RTI time for all of my kiddos. 

We wish everyone a happy and successful new year! 

Click on the picture below to see what other goals teachers are trying to attain! 



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