Five For Friday

Ahhhh .... Friday.  :)

This week's Five For Friday has me thinking about SPRING!

Look at these little cuties that popped up in my garden late last week.  I was so excited to see them - they must have started growing under the snow, and a day or two of rain melted enough snow in my garden I was finally able to see them.  I LOVE gardening in the summer and those first spring flowers are such a treat after a long, long, long winter.

And speaking of growing, my little school is growing, too.  The school nearest ours is closing at the end of the year, and the students will be moving to our school.  So, we're getting an addition built on to our school.  Construction has started and the students are SO excited to watch the "mighty machines" at the school every day.  (This pic was taken from far away because I didn't think the workers would appreciate it if I walked right up to them and started snapping pics of them ... ;).

Another thing that reminds me of Spring is cooking with fresh berries again - no more frozen berries here.  I made these delicious blueberry lemon loaves with the girls this week - I've been trying to bake at least one thing with them every week.  The recipe is from The Joy of Baking - everything I've ever made from that site has turned out perfectly!

Yet another sign of Spring is reviewing for our upcoming standardized testing.  I've been using my newest product, Reading Comprehension Posters for Fiction Books, to review the comprehension strategies we've been studying in reading all year.  I've focused on one strategy to review each week, and during our reading of a mentor text at the beginning of each week, students completed a poster for the strategy we're studying.  We read Chris Van Allsburg's Just A Dream this week to fit in with our Earth Week theme.  They love that they can decorate and colour the poster while I'm reading - it's a treat for them because it's the only time I let them doodle during a read aloud.  I love the deep thinking I'm getting from the posters and the discussions we've had in class about the books.  

Lastly, while I was at a PD day today, my daughters were busy painting and having fun at their daycare today.  My middle surprised me with this little gem when I picked her up at the end of the day.  ♥

T.G.I.F!!!  I wish you all a wonderful weekend!