Five For Friday {Ahem, Sunday}

My intentions were good.  Five for Friday post... check.  Ummmm, uncheck!  Sooooo, I'm doing the Sunday version.  Better late than never, right?  I hope that your week was super awesome.  I am so very happy to be on Thanksgiving break.  We get the whole week off and I am beside myself with joy!  The best part... we go back next Monday and only have 15 days until Christmas break.  Oh HOLY NIGHT!
I'm linking up with Doodle Bugs for her Five for Friday linky party for what might be the first time since school started on August 1st (wowza!).  Without further ado...

My week last week was a day shorter because I took Thursday off for some allergy testing.  This is not my first rodeo and I knew that my back was gong to look awesome.  It didn't disappoint.  The doctor and the nurse kept saying, "Wow!"...  So... pretty much everything responded except a few weird things like cow hair.  Guess I could get a class cow for a pet since the guinea pig thing didn't work out {achoo!}.  So... looks like I"m headed for allergy shots again.  He is hoping to keep it to 5 shots a week.  I am now armed with epi-pens again... and I have to go back in a few weeks for more fun and food testing!

Side note:  do you have to carry an epi-pen?  I went to get the Rx filled and it was going to be $80 after insurance.  Ummmm, Christmas is coming, y'all... and I wasn't quite prepared to take out a loan for medicine.  One of the friendly CVS girls recommended going to the epi-pen website to see if I could find some type of discount.  I went and found a way to bring my cost to $0.  That's right... $0.  Santa I was very happy to print that out!

The local pottery place in my town was having a contest recently where the winning classroom would win a pottery/ornament painting party.  I won (thank you to all who helped vote!!!)  We decided to go ahead and do the party this past Friday so that the ornaments could be fired in the kiln over Thanksgiving break.  Then I can pick them up and get them wrapped pretty and ready to go home to the parental units! :)   The kids had a blast painting their trees... they minded their manners {I may have scared them into being the best behaved children EVER}... and I can't wait to see their faces when their ornaments are done and ready!

Hunger Games anyone?  I went and bought tickets on Thursday afternoon and it's a good thing because Friday night's 815 showing was sold out and jam packed!  I read all 3 books in 3 days awhile back... loved the first movie and this one was even better!  Nothing screams girl date like sushi and a Hunger Games movie!

I did manage to finish some TpT projects this week.  I uploaded a freebie for you and also my Polar Express book companion.  I have so many things that I want to accomplish this week, but I think I am going to close down my laptop and enjoy my kidlets!  If you want to check out either... just click the pictures below!  There are more freebies to come and I don't always get to come post on my blog... so be sure to follow my TpT store and my FB blog page HERE!  

The snowman craft is a simple print and create craft where the kiddos make a snowman using shapes.  It looks really cute glued down onto scrapbook paper and hung in the hallway.  You could pair it with student work or holiday writing!  

The Polar Express unit is finished!  Be sure to click the link and check out the preview.  

Inside there is... 

1) story map

2) graphic organizer
3) point of view creative writing opportunity
4) craft... make the Polar Express using shapes
5) graphing activity 
7) Venn diagram to compare and contrast the book to the movie
8) bulletin board letters spelling out "The Polar Express" to use with displaying student work.
9) Polar Express tickets with a list of suggested uses 

Lastly...  I want to say thank you to my readers and followers!  The last year of my life has been very difficult and having this blog as an outlet...and TpT as a diversion have been so helpful.  I am grateful for the encouragement I have received from so many of you.  I hope that when you read my blog... you come away feeling as though it is real and authentic.  I try to mix the good and the bad.  I want you to see the messy classroom pictures and hear about the lessons that failed.  I want to share my grief in losing a baby and my joy when life is amazing.  Life is messy... and I want my blog to reflect that.  Thanks again for going on this ride with me.  Hold on tight... we've only just begun!  Happy Thanksgiving to all my teacher peeps!  Talk to y'all soon!